Heroes in real life
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L.A. and Southern California
mourn those who died in crash
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Los Angeles grieves again today. The crash of the Los Angeles Fire
Department air ambulance claimed four lives Monday: 11-year -old Norma Vides, who was
being rushed to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles after an auto accident;
firefighter-paramedics Michael Butler and Eric Reiner; and helicopter crewman Michael
McComb.
On March 8, Joseph C. Dupee died fighting a blaze--the Los Angeles Fire Department's first
death in the line of duty in 14 years.
These courageous firefighters put their lives on the line every day for the betterment of
our community, and they died as heroes.
We honor them.
On a day when the Hollywood dream factory was honoring the film industry's achievements
with Academy Awards, three firefighters were killed and two others badly injured as they
went about their chosen work, risking their lives as a matter of daily routine.
They are not alone.
On March 15, Harbor Patrol Officer Paul Korber drowned after courageously saving the lives
of three swimmers struggling against a riptide near Ventura Harbor.
Every day, men and women police officers, firefighters and others face terrible challenges
in service to the community.
The greatest respect the public can pay to all these heroes is to ensure that they did not
die in vain.
We must investigate what went wrong and make sure the problems are corrected.
Friday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to restore jobs to the Fire Department that had
been cut to save money--jobs that might have made a difference in the fire that killed
Dupee.
There is obvious cause for concern in Monday's tragedy. The aircraft was a 22-year-old
workhorse, and officials said its tail rotor fell off before the crash.
We must face what went wrong and fix it. Paramedic services are basic to
our lives together in this city, and money must be found to provide for our community's
health and safety even if other things must go.
Too often, City Hall has spent too much on what is not basic and necessary to our lives,
too often at the expense of what is critical.
We don't know whether that applies in this latest tragedy, but the truth will save us as a
community. |