The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday thanked the dozens of Los Angeles County firefighters who aided rescue efforts in earthquake-ravaged Nepal.
The 57 firefighters, who respond “throughout the world wherever there is an earthquake disaster,” were joined by six doctors and nurses from LAC+USC Medical Center’s trauma team and dogs trained to track down survivors, Supervisor Michael Antonovich said.
In one of the most dramatic rescues, members of the department’s California Task Force 2 pulled a 15-year-old boy out of a pile of rubble five days after the April 25 magnitude-7.8 quake, which flattened villages and triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest.
County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said the lessons learned in Nepal would also benefit Angelenos.
“We’re also earthquake country,” Osby said, after thanking “these firefighters, these engineers, these doctors, the dog handlers” that went “above and beyond.”
The first quake, which killed more than 8,000 people and injured at least 18,000, was followed by dozens of aftershocks, including a magnitude-7.3 shaker on May 12 that killed dozens more in the Himalayan nation.
Supervisor Hilda Solis also extended her thanks to the rescue team, most of whom returned to the U.S. just before the May 12 aftershock.
“God bless you on behalf of all of us,” she said.
— City News Service