LAFD CERT Hydration Units

11/30/2025

The 4 CERT Hydration units and the Call-out Team are back in action after almost a year of debate with the City legal department. We attended the required training and certification, again. We gained some additional member/trainees which improves our ability to respond to the needs of the Fire Department.

06/22/2025

New posts coming soon as the weather warms up and hydration is needed to keep the firefighters going. Stay tuned.

02/24/2022

CE 59 was dispatched on 2/22/22 at approx 9:30 pm to a Major Emergency fire at 933 S. Park View St in the Westlake District. The 2 story Craftsman Style residence had been previously damaged by fire and was schedule for demolition. 140 Firefighters fought the blaze while protecting buildings on either side (extensions) but the building to the north did receive considerable damage to the side facing the fire building. The damage to the main fire building was so severe that we were unable to recognize any of the architectural features of typical Craftsman construction. The photos attached were taken the following day in daylight as the prior evening's photos were too dark. Carl and Chin staffed CE 59.

01/24/2022

CE 59 was dispatched to a high-rise building in at 333 S. Grand Ave downtown LA this morning to provide rehab for firefighters and hydration for residents and employees that were evacuated from the building. Incident #411. The fire started due to an electrical accident in the Chipotle restaurant under construction on the first floor. Smoke rose up to many floors of the building. CERT members John Gilbert and Carl Ginsberg were the CE 59 team. There were in excess of 100 firefighters assigned this incident.

10/03/2021

On Friday, Oct 2, 2021 CE 59 was dispatched to a small grass fire in Lincoln Heights that extended into 3 small homes. These were very old homes with wooden siding that easily caught fire when the flames from the grass moved uphill. All three appeared to be a total loss although residents were able to salvage some possessions from one of the homes. 118 firefighters took 61 minutes to extinguish the fires. It was a fairly warm day so the firefighters were very glad to see us arrive. CE 59 was staffed by Carl Ginsberg and Chin Thammasaengsri.

10/03/2021

As you might notice, the Unit Designation on the rig in the photo has changed from HU 59 to CE 59. All CERT vehicles now are labeled as CE and the number of the fire station in which they are housed. CE 59 is housed at FS 59 at Olympic and Butler in West LA. Other units are CE 13 and CE 13 in LA Metro, and CE 83 and CE 84 in the Valley. All rigs are equipped with ice chests, water, gatorade, etc. for firefighter rehab and hydration. They also carry easy-up canopies, emergency medical kits and other items useful for caring for firefighters at major incidents. CE 59 is the only converted Rescue/Ambulance and it has much more space for hydration and other equipment such as a generator, lighting, tables, chairs, easy-ups, coffee service, food service, large misting fans and more.

06/18/2021

CE 59 was deployed to a Greater Alarm structure fire today. Carl Ginsberg and John Gilbert were the crew. Glad to have John come over from Valley Bureau to join me. The building was unoccupied but several un-housed people were in residence. There was a second building in the rear (preschool) which is a total loss.

02/01/2021

01/30/2020

Yesterday we were deployed at 8:37 am to a 25 story High Rise building fire with heavy fire on the 6th floor. As you may have seen on the new, several trapped persons jumped from windows onto the jump cushions that the firefighters had setup. You may also have seen both LAFD and LA Sheriffs helicopters rescuing residents from the roof of the building. Many floors of the building were evacuated to an office building nearby which kindly provided a comfortable room to gather in as well and drinks and snacks.

Approximately 335 firefighters fought this difficult fire with a knockdown declared at just before 10 am. There was also a large response by the LAPD and LA county Sheriffs.

The LAFD response included:
9 Battalion Chiefs and various Bureau and Deputy Chiefs
47 Fire Engines
4 EMS Supervisors (Captains)
18 Rescue Ambulances, 1 Fast Response Ambulance
19 Ladder Trucks
Photographers, Public Information Officers, Logistics Specialists, etc.
The Fire Chief
The Chief of Staff
CERT Hydration/Rehab Unit 59
CERT Hydration/Rehab Unit 43

Our Hydration/Rehab Units provided hydration to the firefighters and other support personnel and then served up meals for everyone who wanted one.

Fortunately there was only 2 people requiring transport to hospitals.

It was a long day for the four CERT responders but as always, we got the job done.
See the pictures below of the team: Mona, Carl, Phil and Terrence.

01/30/2020

I have to apologize for my tardiness in posting incidents for Hydration 59. One item of interest may be that our unit has a new designation. We have always been identified as HU 59 (Hydration 59) but we are now CE 59 for CERT 59. This was done when we received some additional LAFD vehicles. These were all to be named using the CE coding since these new units do more than hydration. So in keeping with the new coding, we are now CE 59.

The close of 2019 was especially busy for all of the CERT call out teams and units. Starting with the Saddleridge fire onc Oct, 10 and continuing with the Palisades fire on Oct 21, the Getty fire on Oct 28 and finally the Barham fire on Nov 19. These incidents all piled up after a long stretch of no major incidents to report. We were surely caught in the 'beware of what you wish for' thing when we were wondering when the late fire season would throw some action our way. Well, after those 4 major fires we were tapped out and hoping for a break. So far, so good.

Today however we had a more enjoyable assignment supporting the Kingdom Day Parade honouring Dr. Martin Luther King. Several thousand of your neighbors came out for a day of reverence, food and entertainment in the Leimert Park area. There were no reported injuries for our first aid station other than giving a bandaid to a visitor. It was another day for us to support the LAFD and the community at large. Thanks to the 13 CERT volunteers (plus 1 for me) who came out today for this event.

See some goofy pictures of both the LAFD and LA County Fire Departments Recruiting teams attached. The last picture is our CE unit assignment to the event shown on our Mobile Data Terminal on board CE 59.
Photo 1 is the LAFD, 2 is LA County with some Lifeguards.

Interested in CERT training? See our website at www.cert-la.com. Join the team and help us make LA a safer city.

CG

LAFD CERT Calendar ALL Events, Classes & Meetings CERT Basic Training Calendar CERT Meetings & Events Calendar Ham Radio Training Calendar CERT Breaking News! New LAFD CERT classes start now! Earthquakes! Ready Your LA Neighborhood (RYLAN)

12/29/2018

Part of being on the Hydration Team out of FS 59 is making sure that the rig is running well and kept clean and shiny. Today we performed the monthly bumper to bumper vehicle inspection on the rig. All mechanical parts are working, the fluids are up to the full line and all of the lights, etc. are working properly.
But in order to be presentable, the rig needed a wash so we took care of that as well today. We are fully stocked and ready to serve the firefighters of the LAFD anytime, anywhere in the City of LA.
See us hard at work in the attached photos

Wishing all a Happy New Year. Make it a safe one.

Chin and Carl

12/21/2018

You may have noticed that we have not posted much recently. The good news is that the past few months have relatively quiet and there haven't been any major fires in our response area which is the entire City of LA south of Mulholland Blvd. down to San Pedro. Let's hope that the trend continues at least through the holidays.

We wish you as happy and SAFE holiday season. Water your Christmas trees, be careful with extension cords that may be damaged or are two thin to handle the load and keep those candles away from flammable items. And as it's been a bit chilly, put your floor heaters on the floor where they belong, away from furniture, curtains, etc. and turn them off when you go to sleep. These appliances are a major cause of residential structure fires.