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本能發揮作用-洛杉磯大火
2025/01/13 05:57
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(I found this article online, and would just like to repost it here. Such generosity has a personal meaning to me, as one of the houses that these wonderful people saved was my daughter’s. I think that it’s a good reminder to us all that, in the midst of this catastrophe, miracles can still happen and heroes can emerge.)

’Instinct kicked in’
Veteran Winnipeg firefighter on vacation in L.A. saves several homes threatened by raging wildfire
By: Tyler Searle Posted: 5:53 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025

Buffeted by embers, choked by smoke and enveloped in the glow of the most destructive wildfire in modern Los Angeles history, Lt. Romeo Petit faced a reality closer to hell than the paradise of Pasadena he’d known just hours before.

“You could see the hue of orange and the flames — it was just — I’ve never seen a fire that big in my life and I’ve been a firefighter for 22 years. It was a pretty scary scene; it’s just surreal,” said the senior Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service member, speaking by phone from California Thursday afternoon.


SUPPLIED WFPS Lt. Romeo Petit

Nightmare blazes have engulfed parts of coastal California this week, razing homes from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena, causing nearly 200,000 evacuations and killing at least five people.

Petit, his voice hoarse from inhaling acrid smoke, described how he, his girlfriend and their friend faced flames with little more than garden hoses overnight Tuesday.

Their efforts likely saved a smattering of homes from a surrounding inferno.

“I was just trying to help out these local firefighters because they were overwhelmed with most of the city burning down,” he said.

“Instinct kicked in.”

Petit was vacationing in Kinneloa Mesa — a community in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Pasadena — when flames from a nearby fire threatened to consume the home in which he was staying with Winnipeg-born actress Melissa Elias and California film producer Adam Stone.

According to California state wildfire maps, a portion of the community is within the boundary of the Eaton fire, near Pasadena.

The fire remained out of control with the area subject to a mandatory evacuation order Thursday.

Left without power for much of Tuesday, the trio evacuated shortly before 7 p.m. as extreme winds fuelled a fire that had already engulfed entire neighbourhoods in the surrounding area.

Local fire services, stretched well beyond capacity, had largely resigned to let Kinneloa burn, prioritizing saving lives over structures as the hellscape expanded, Stone said.

Inspired to help, and emboldened by Petit’s expertise as a firefighter, the group returned to the community shortly before midnight.

For more than four hours they beat back flames with shovels, dug fire trenches and doused structures and surrounding areas with as much water as they could muster.

Stone described how “sheets of embers” cascaded from the hillside, causing parched foliage to ignite with spot fires in every direction.

Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

At the command of Petit, they moved systematically from home to home, turning on sprinklers and providing updates by phone to concerned homeowners who’d fled to safety, said Elias.

“I was doing things I didn’t know I could do,” she said, calling her boyfriend “a hero.”

“We were just lucky to have a Winnipeg firefighter there, he knew exactly what to do.”

At one point, Petit climbed onto the roof of a burning home and peeled back shingles to rain water down on the flames from above, she said.

His efforts likely prevented the house from burning entirely, said Stone, who is friends with the homeowner.

Petit, Elias and Stone remained in the area throughout the night, returning to safety soot-covered and exhausted early Wednesday morning.

Later that day, they learned the homes where they had been working remained standing.

“That was awesome news to hear,” Petit said. “(Elias and Stone), they are the heroes in my mind. I was just helping out and doing my thing. Every other firefighter, if they had the chance, they’d do the same thing.”

All three expressed sympathy for those who suffered injuries, lost their lives or their homes as a result of the ongoing natural disaster.

Petit is slated to return to Winnipeg Friday, and is scheduled for a shift with the WFPS Saturday.

In the meantime, he is consulting with other homeowners in the area, offering advice on how to pre-emptively prepare for evacuation and protect their homes, Stone said.

“Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the devastating wildfires,” said United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg Local 867 president Nick Kasper, who spoke with Petit Thursday.

“When it comes to Romeo, we are so proud of him. We are thankful he is safe. It’s accurate in saying his actions literally made the difference and saved this community… he’s a fantastic person, a great guy and his actions embody what it means to be a firefighter.”

Petit said he plans to explore ways to continue assisting in the California fire efforts once he returns home.

The WFPS is not currently involved in any organized response to the California fires, and had not received any requests for assistance as of Thursday, a spokesperson said.

The original article- https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/01/09/instinct-kicked-in-veteran-winnipeg-firefighter-on-vacation-in-l-a-saves-several-homes-threatened-by-raging-wildfire-with-help-of-girlfriend-host

我在網路上看到了這篇文章,就想在這裡轉發一下。這些好心人拯救的房屋中有一處是我女兒的,所以這種慷慨之舉對我個人而言意義非凡。我認為這對我們所有人來說都是一個很好的提醒,在這場災難中,奇蹟仍有可能發生,英雄也會湧現。 )
「本能發揮作用」 溫尼伯資深消防員在洛杉磯度假時拯救了多座受到野火威脅的房屋
作者:Tyler Searle
發佈時間:美國中部標準時間 2025 年 1 月 9 日星期四下午 5:53

這場洛杉磯現代史上最具破壞性的野火,在餘燼的衝擊下,在濃煙的籠罩下,在火光的籠罩下,羅密歐·佩蒂特中尉所面對的現實更接近地獄,而不是幾個小時前他所知道的帕薩迪納的天堂。

「你可以看到橙色和火焰——那隻是——我一生中從未見過這麼大的火災,儘管我當了 22 年的消防員。這是一個相當可怕的場景; 「這簡直太不真實了,」這位溫尼伯消防救護服務中心的資深成員週四下午在加州透過電話說道。

提供 WFPS 中尉 Romeo Petit

本週,噩夢般的大火席捲了加州沿海地區,從太平洋海岸到帕薩迪納,大火燒毀了大部分房屋,導致近 20 萬人撤離,至少 5 人死亡。

佩蒂特因為吸入刺鼻的煙霧而聲音嘶啞,他描述了周二夜間他、女友和朋友如何僅靠花園水管撲滅大火。

他們的努力很可能拯救了周圍大火中的一些房屋。

他說:“我只是想幫助當地消防員,因為他們被大火淹沒了。”

“本能開始發揮作用。”

佩蒂特當時正在金內洛亞梅薩度假,這是位於聖蓋博山腳下俯瞰帕薩迪納的一個社區,附近一場大火威脅到他和溫尼伯出生的女演員梅麗莎·埃利亞斯以及加州電影製片人亞當史東所住的房子。

根據加州山火地圖,該社區的一部分位於帕薩迪納附近的伊頓火災邊界內。

大火仍未控制,該地區週四已收到強制疏散命令。

由於週二大部分時間都處於斷電狀態,三人於晚上 7 點前撤離。強風加劇了大火,火勢已經吞噬了周邊地區整個街區。

史東表示,當地消防部門已經超出了能力範圍,隨著火場的擴大,他們基本上已經放棄了對金內洛亞火災的抵抗,他們優先考慮的是挽救生命,而不是建築物。

在佩蒂特專業消防員技能的鼓舞和幫助下,這群人於午夜前返回了社區。

在超過四個小時的時間裡,他們用鐵鍬滅火,挖防火溝,並向建築物和周圍地區澆注盡可能多的水。

史東描述了「一片片餘燼」如何從山坡上落下,導致乾枯的樹葉被點燃,四面八方都出現了小火。

2025 年 1 月 8 日星期三,消防員在洛杉磯太平洋帕利塞德社區與火勢作鬥爭,大火正在燒毀一座建築。

埃利亞斯說,在佩蒂的指揮下,他們有條不紊地挨家挨戶清理,打開灑水裝置,並透過電話向已逃至安全地帶的憂心房主通報最新情況。

「我做了一些我不知道自己能做的事情,」她說道,並稱她的男朋友是「英雄」。

“我們很幸運有一名溫尼伯消防員在那裡,他知道該怎麼做。”

她說,有一次,佩蒂特爬上了一座著火房屋的屋頂,揭開屋頂瓦片,從上方往火焰上澆水。

房主的朋友斯通說,他的努力可能阻止了房子徹底燒毀。

佩蒂、埃利亞斯和斯通整晚都留在該地區,直到星期三清晨才滿身煙塵、精疲力盡地返回安全地帶。

當天晚些時候,他們得知他們工作過的房屋仍然矗立在那裡。

佩蒂特說:“這真是一個令人振奮的消息。” 「(埃利亞斯和史東),他們是我心目中的英雄。我只是幫忙並做我該做的事。其他每個消防員,如果有機會,他們也會做同樣的事情。

三人均對在持續的自然災害中受傷、失去生命或家園的人們表示同情。

佩蒂特計劃於週五返回溫尼伯,並計劃於週六與 WFPS 一起輪班。

史東說,與此同時,他正在與該地區的其他房主進行磋商,就如何提前做好撤離準備並保護他們的家園提供建議。

溫尼伯聯合消防員工會 867 分會主席尼克·卡斯珀週四與佩蒂特交談時表示:“我們向所有受到毀滅性山火影響的人們表示慰問。”

「說到羅密歐,我們為他感到非常驕傲。我們很慶幸他平安。準確地說,他的行為確實發揮了作用並拯救了這個社區……他是一個了不起的人,一個偉大的傢伙,他的行為體現了消防員的意義。

佩蒂特表示,他計劃回國後探索繼續協助加州滅火工作的方法。

發言人表示,WFPS 目前尚未參與任何針對加州火災的有組織的應對行動,截至週四尚未收到任何援助請求。

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3樓. 府城古意廣衡藝術郭老師
2025/01/24 21:00
讚讚好好的!
感謝您與我都欣賞介紹的作品故事了。
2樓. tzi
2025/01/14 02:56
新年快樂🎊🎉🎈

了不起的消防團隊. 👍👏❤️
1樓. 府城古意廣衡藝術郭老師
2025/01/13 19:18
新年快樂
感動(嘩)今年2025年的新年快樂我也祝福您生意新榮平安吉祥。