WATERTOWN — Armenians are not just among the victims to the fires in southern California. There are also Armenian firefighters who are among the saviors. One of them, 34-year-old Hrag Jivalagian, was working nearly continually in the Altadena-Pasadena areas since the start of what is called the Eaton Valley fires in that area on Tuesday, January 7. (For basic information on the southern California fires, which still remain largely uncontained, see this article.)
Jivalagian lives in Altadena and works in the fire department of the city of San Gabriel, which is two cities to the south of Pasadena. He said: “I was born in the motherland of Glendale and grew up here in Pasadena. I am a local kid.” He went to Pasadena City High School and Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School before starting Pasadena City College. However, he discovered his true vocation through a ride-along with the fire department, which led him to get his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) license.
After two years of college, he went to the Fire Academy for six months of training, and then to paramedic school. He has been working 10 years fulltime as a firefighter-paramedic, and prior to that two years as a paramedic and one year as an EMT.
His main responsibility at present is the fire engine and the equipment, so he makes sure there is water in the pump to be able to provide it at the right pressure. Anything the members of his crew need – usually four people including himself – Jivalagian provides. For example, if one of the crew needs a chainsaw to cut something down, he gets them the chainsaw, which he checks every morning to make sure it works. Once everybody is set at a site and they need backup, Jivalagian said he will back them up on the fire line or the fire hose. If he is not pumping and if there is another fire engine there, he hops off his engine and goes inside or does whatever else is necessary in his support role.
The Eaton Fires
Jivalagian explained that there are 13 cities in his area whose fire departments work together. While he was home in Altadena, an extreme wind event first started on Tuesday and his house lost power. He said, “Usually when we have a significant event, in the fire department, we have a civil duty, but when there is a catastrophic event, we have to show up for work. You make sure that your family is good and then you have to go and help.”