Having returned to the Northeast San Fernando Valley after spending 11 days aiding rescue efforts in Venezuela, Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) personnel are taking some much-needed time off to recuperate before going back to work.
Members of the department’s Urban Search and Rescue team, also known as USA-2, returned to the Technical Operations facility in Pacoima on Monday evening, July 6. Although it was close to 10 p.m., their loved ones and children, some of them infants, awaited them – families waved signs that read “Welcome Home” and cheered joyfully as they arrived.
There were tears of relief as they embraced the firefighters, who were equally glad to be back home after being in Venezuela for nearly two weeks in search of survivors, many buried deep in rubble following the two devastating earthquakes that took more than 3,500 lives.
“I’m very, very excited to be home. I [missed] California, I [missed] my wife and my son,” firefighter Kevin Sarehkhani told media. “The work was hard; it was very, very strenuous. It was discouraging at times and then very encouraging at others. I was happy we got to go there and help out. Obviously, I wish we could’ve done more, but there were definitely some times when we were able to make a difference.”
LACoFD Fire Chief Aaron Katon said that when USA-2 is deployed, the department ensures that their family members are present upon their return to greet them. The firefighters are essentially “off the grid” while assisting rescue efforts at the epicenter of major quakes; they are without phone reception.
This can be stressful for families watching the devastation on their TVs and being unable to reach their loved ones to check on them. Having family members ready to welcome them back brings a sense of relief to both the firefighters and their loved ones.
The department also has four full-time behavioral health technicians to care for firefighters’ mental and emotional well-being after they return from these disaster sites.
“You can imagine that, when you’ve been in Venezuela for 11 days and are going through these buildings, there have been some great saves, but also, there are people you’re not able to [save], and that sticks with you,” Katon said.
One such story occurred early on when the team first arrived in Venezuela, when a woman said her two teenage daughters were trapped in a building. Although the rescuers were initially hopeful, three days later there were no signs of life and the team had to move on.
“A lot of these buildings just collapsed out of nowhere, and many of those poor people in there never had a chance,” Katon continued. “Our people, going through the rubble, do find those victims, too, and it takes a toll.”
Now that they’re back stateside, the members of the team were given the next four days off to rest before they’re back on duty.
“As of this weekend, [they’re going] back out there, getting on the engine [and] responding to calls because that’s what we do, that’s what our people do and they do a great job of it,” Katon said. “As far as the [USA-2 team] aspect, it’s right back into training.”
What the USA-2 Team Brought to Venezuela
USA-2 consists of 73 personnel – including rescue technicians, medical specialists and structural collapse specialists – six canine teams and approximately 84,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment. On their mission to Venezuela, they were joined by four physicians from the LA County Department of Health Services.
The team was formerly with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), but after it was effectively dismantled by the Trump administration, USA-2 now works with the State Department.
It’s only one of two teams in the country authorized by the State Department to deploy internationally regularly – the other is from the Fairfax County Fire Department.
LACoFD personnel were sent to the hardest-hit areas of the Latin American country, including Playa Grande in the state of La Guaira, where at least eight buildings had collapsed. Many of these buildings were in the Hugo Chávez housing complex, named after the country’s president at the time of its construction. Reports have since come out that the complex was built on sandy soil, which is susceptible to liquefaction – which is when the soil behaves like a liquid during an earthquake.
Immediately upon their arrival, USA-2 set out to do ground and aerial reconnaissance to identify the sites most in need of their help. Once they got to work, the team’s mission was to locate where a person might be underneath the collapsed rubble, utilizing both high-tech sensors and canines to detect victims by scent.
“Once they located a potential victim, they set out to rescue that victim, and it’s a very sensitive mission, as you might imagine,” Katon said. “When you have people trapped under this very heavy debris, you need to use powerful equipment to move that debris or tunnel through it, but at the same time, you can’t trigger any sudden moves in it, lest you risk the safety of the people who are still trapped there.”
One of these rescues USA-2 assisted in was that of 43-year-old Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, a security guard who was trapped for eight days in the collapsed basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center. Flores was passed food and water through a narrow shaft to keep him alive.
“Our team did really great work, and we could not be more proud of them,” Katon said. He added that LACoFD could not do what it does without the support of the State Department and the residents it serves.
“They take having a first-class fire department very seriously, … one that provides not only top level service for their emergencies on a day-to-day basis, but that when a country like Venezuela finds itself in an unfortunate situation and in need of the world’s help, that our people are there to answer the call, so everyone who lives in LA County Fire Department’s area should also feel proud.”