Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguards received a formal commendation from the City of Malibu during the Monday, Feb. 11, council meeting in recognition of heroism during the initial response to the Woolsey Fire on Friday, Nov. 9.
Lifeguards—who operate within the LA County Fire Department—were called upon to rescue residents as the fire tore through Malibu last fall.
“In the fire department, how it works is that you have to maintain 9-1-1 service, so no matter what, when you call, somebody has to show up,” Council Member Skylar Peak, a former LA County Lifeguard, explained at the meeting. “In our fire, the priority became life, above and beyond anything.
“I am so grateful for the work that I saw all of them do while I was here,” Peak later added. “Watching them respond to people that were in wheelchairs and the elderly people in our community, to help some of them get out of their homes and help them get to safety … It was a group of those gentlemen that knew the community very well, along with the other firemen that don’t always wear red trunks, that worked around the clock to keep those people safe. And I am forever grateful for that.”