Fires and twisted wreckage do not intentionally create harm, but a man with a gun lying in wait is an entirely new and different menace to the fire service.
In the early morning hours of April 24, members of the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported fire south of downtown LA. While extinguishment was an expected knockdown inside a two-story home, gunshots ringing out during overhaul were not. Experienced firefighters acknowledge the dangers and hazards associated with the job. Fires, vehicle accidents and civilians in distress pose inherent risks.
As firefighters retreated behind their apparatus, the gun-toting suspect barricaded himself in the burned-out structure after allegedly fatally shooting his 50-year-old mother. After two hours and a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the man surrendered to police.