National Fire Service Day, May 9th, 2026

National Fire Service Day, May 9^th, 2026

By Christy Adair, LAFD CERT Valley Bureau Coordinator

I had the incredible experience of spending FSD in Central and South Bureaus this past Saturday. Fire Commissioner and Board President, John A Perez and I visited Fire Stations 13, 26, 94 and 112. We met firefighters with decades of devotion to their communities and we talked with elected officials who spent their day tasting local cuisine and listening to their stakeholders.

Our first station was Station 26. When we arrived, we learned the station captain, Captain Nyberg, was out on an arson call along with former CERT Unit Captain Weireter. There was a fatality so the mood was somber before the day’s festivities began. Captain Guitierez and FF Moon sat down with us in their kitchen before giving us a tour of the station.

At Station 13, we met with Captain Westfall along with Chief Fields and Chief Fligiel who were there to present the Honorary Fire Chief for the Central Bureau to Jose Rodriguez. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez was also on hand to support the station, enjoy cotton candy and talk to the crowds. A familiar sighting at this station was Retired Captain Phil Weireter who was giving tours of the 1931 Segrave Hose Wagon which is housed at Station 13. Fire Commissioner Jerry Abraham, MD, arrived at the station and immediately gravitated to the Segrave Wagon and wanted to learn more about the apparatus. The CERT Booth was manned by CERT members: Jackson, Angela, Tom and Vincent.

At Station 94, we met with Captains Alex Garcia and Ozzie Garcia as well as Captain Boatman and FF Hoogsteen who gave us a tour of their sprawling station. Demonstrations were loud, fiery and exciting – the crowd loved the ‘jaws of life’ which turned a sedan into a convertible. My personal favorite demo was watching several firefighters jump off a perfectly good roof onto a large yellow pillow. Councilmember Heather Hutt stopped by to join the fun and address the community. South Bureau Coordinator, Chin Thammasaengsri also arrived to greet the community and join the CERT booth members which included: Mitch, Freddie, Hana, Ralf, Phil and Bill.

Our final visit was Station 112 in San Pedro which is situated right on the water. Captain Rolish greeted us with a tour of his station on the waterway. Yes, some of the station’s apparatus are boats! Fire Commissioner and Board Vice President Yolanda Regalado had a booth at the event and was directly engaged with the locals. We were in time to see Chiefs Moore and Gutierez present the Honorary Fire Chief on behalf of the South Bureau. Councilmember Tim McCosker was on-hand to present a beautiful certificate on behalf of the City Council. This station had an unexpected bonus – a tight rock band made up entirely of LAFD station 112 firefighters! V-Time plays at the station as well as The Whiskey and Sagebrush Cantina. The CERT booth included: Steve, Annalisa and new CERT graduate Jason.

Commissioner Perez and I arrived back at City Hall East around 5:30pm and I headed back to Fire Station 88 to return the vehicle. The Station Captains remarked that this was an unusual Fire Service Day because many of the community members stayed for several hours and that even after the end of the event – families were still coming to the station for tours. When I was there – one such family had just arrived for their tour at 6pm.

By Christy Adair|2026-05-13T11:38:22-07:00May 13th, 2026|CERT LA News, Community Events, LAFD CERT, LAFD News|Comments Off

About the Author: Christy Adair

Christy Adair is the LAFD CERT Valley Bureau Coordinator. Christy received her CERT Training in 2001 through NBCUniversal where she currently serves as a CERT Team Leader and Instructor as well as sits on the prestigious CERT Advisory Council. Christy was the LAFD CERT Battalion 10 Coordinator from 2002 through 2017 until she began new duties as the LAFD CERT Valley Bureau Coordinator. Her professional life has involved working at various studios with film and TV production crews all over the world. She currently works at NBCUniversal in Labor Relations. Other volunteer activities have included working as a Responder with the LA Mayor’s Crisis Response Team; as an Instructor and Rose Parade Station Leader with the Red Cross; as a Ham Operator for LAFD ACS; and as a Lead Instructor with Impact Personal Safety. Living in various parts of the country - Christy learned early how to prepare for tornadoes, flash floods, electrical storms, brush fires, earthquakes and once had to help neighbors evacuate in the middle of the night when a hurricane suddenly changed course. She serves her community just as her grandfather did when he started a CERT-like chapter in West Texas for community preparedness and disaster response in the 1940’s. Continuing in her family’s tradition; Christy believes in building up communities to take care of themselves in disaster scenarios.