Sometimes its better to be lucky than good. Today was one of those days. I was driving south on Cherry Ave. when I saw thick, black smoke. Thinking it was coming from the oil wells west of Cherry Ave in Signal Hill I parked my car on Burnett Street and looked down the hill. I saw the smoke was two-block below me. I ran down the hill, jump a small stucco fence, scraped my arm, and arrived at the fully-engulfed building before the fire department. See the pictures>>
PHOTOS: Fire destroys Signal Hill Apartment
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This blog is a journal of Long Beach, California, through the lens of Jeff Gritchen. It will be updated frequently with the pictures, photo tips and musings from the various assignments he covers as a staff photographer for the Press-Telegram.
Gritchen has been documenting the diverse city of Long Beach since 1998. He covers everything from the Cambodian community to prep sports to gang ridden neighborhoods to the annual running of the Long Beach Grand Prix. He covered destruction Hurricane Katrina brought to Long Beach, Mississippi and traveled to Southeast Asia to document a rural Cambodian girl's as she traveled to the U.S. for life-altering heart surgery. He has won numerous state and national awards, including an international NPPA Best of Photojournalism award in 2003. He can be contacted at
jeff.gritchen@presstelegram.com
Gritchen has been documenting the diverse city of Long Beach since 1998. He covers everything from the Cambodian community to prep sports to gang ridden neighborhoods to the annual running of the Long Beach Grand Prix. He covered destruction Hurricane Katrina brought to Long Beach, Mississippi and traveled to Southeast Asia to document a rural Cambodian girl's as she traveled to the U.S. for life-altering heart surgery. He has won numerous state and national awards, including an international NPPA Best of Photojournalism award in 2003. He can be contacted at
jeff.gritchen@presstelegram.com
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Well it looks like Eng 60 and other LA County Fire units did a good job at keeping the fire damage to a minimum. I know budgets are tough but it shows you need a fully staffed fire station 24/7 because you never know when YOUR home or condo will catch fire... GREAT JOB ENG 60
I saw and smelled the smoke as I was driving north on Cherry through the rear view. Thought I'd left the parking brake on my work vehicle.
As a resident of this complex, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to Engine 60 and all the work the firefighters put in to save the rest of our homes. Our prayers go out to the ones who lost theirs.
Didn't know the fire was that bad, we live in that complex and realized after the fact how close it was. those 100 firefighters are a life saver and you never realize how much they put themselves at risk to save you and your home. these pictures really depict their heroism.
Kudos to the City of Signal hill for staffing their one and only fire engine with (4) firefighters!