Join MySafe:LA's David Barrett and our special guest La'Veyah Mosely and her mother to discuss the life changing fireworks can have on a person. La'Veyah - a talented 7th grade student in L.A. - and an athlete playing for the L.A. Watts Rams youth league lost all of the fingers on her left hand when she was handed a firework device on the 5th of July 2022. La'Veyah shares her story and how she has recovered and is focused on spreading the word that all fireworks are illegal in Los...

In the City of Los Angeles, ALL fireworks are illegal. In the County of Los Angeles, it depends on which city you're talking about. Many cities offer "Safe and Sane" fireworks for sale on and around the 4th of July. The lack of consistency from city to city complicates the public's understanding of fireworks and the law. Join host David Barrett as he speaks with LAPD Deputy Chief Amanda Tingirides, L.A. County Fire Captain Sheila Kelliher, and a group of L.A. residents - all talking about...

Join MySafe:LA's David Barrett as he covers the ongoing threat of wildfires in California generally, and in Southern California more specifically. Los Angeles City Fire Department Deputy Chief Trevor Richmond shares insight in what to expect this year and unveils a new collaboration between the LAFD and MySafe:LA - the Los Angeles Wildfire Resilience Alliance. Initially being rolled out as a pilot, it's expected to expand to cover the entire City - and MySafe:LA will cover the entire County...

Join MySafe:LA Executive Director David Barrett as he discusses the challenges in public safety and resilience for 2022. David shares some of the new initiatives at MySafe:LA and how the public may benefit from the programs being offered by the recognized, award-winning community resilience organization. This episode focuses on the upcoming wildfire season and a new initiative designed to make homeowners better protected, and ready to take action in the event a wildfire occurs and threatens a...

Join host David Barrett as he navigates the complex environment of illegal fireworks in Los Angeles. David is joined by three important guests, including LA City Area Prosecutor and Deputy City Attorney Gabrielle Taylor, Deputy Chief for the Office of Operations of the LAPD, Beatrice Girmala, and Public Information Officer Erik Scott of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.  Fireworks may seem like an impossible issue to remedy, but there is progress being made. Increased enforcement for...

Fireworks have traditionally been at the core of national and regional celebrations. In Los Angeles, all fireworks sales and use are illegal - but even so, Angelenos celebrate every June through August with a nightly show of rebellion that brings joy to some, and fear and disaster to many. This special edition of CityTalk:LA looks into the issues surrounding fireworks, and visits with a number of people involved in the legal aspects of what people believe is a national pastime.  Join us as...

In this exciting Armenian-language podcast, Harout Harry Semerdjian of MySafe:LA’s Board of Directors and EMT Henry Halajian of MySafe:LA (and an ambulance operator for the Glendale Fire Department) discuss COVID-19 and important community protections related to the coronavirus epidemic. They also touch on our signature Smoke Alarm Installation Program, which we offer to the community free of charge. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

We continue our earthquake podcast conversation with Cameron Barrett, Education Director, and Mark Benthien, the Director of Communications, Education and Outreach at the Southern California Earthquake Center. Mark's team are part of the core group or organizers behind the ShakeOut drill every year. In this podcast he discusses the need for earthquake knowledge and preparedness throughout Southern California, and how easy it is to sign up for this year's ShakeOut. Support the show...

Margaret Vinci is the Manager of the Office of Earthquake Programs at CalTech. She's been busy lately, what with the 5.1 La Habra Earthquake, the 4.4 Encino Earthquake, and the monster 8.2 Chilean Earthquake. All in the last few weeks. Cameron Barrett chats with Margaret about the earthquake tools available online that she, the scientists at CalTech, and others around the world, have developed to help save lives, and educate the general public. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

In the wake of the March 28th La Habra Earthquake, Todd Leitz, MySafe:LA's public information officer, speaks with Dr. Jill Barnes, the Coordinator for Disaster Services and Emergency Preparedness for the Los Angeles School District. If you have kids in the LAUSD, here's some details about the district's earthquake preparedness that should ease your mind. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

Cameron Barrett speaks about the latest string of earthquakes to strike Southern California with Kate Long, the Earthquake Deputy for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. The 5.1 magnitude La Habra earthquake that struck March 28 did $10.5 million in damage to Orange County. Long says the La Habra Quake, like all temblors, is a wake up call for Southern Californians to prepare. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

February is American Heart Disease Awareness Month. In celebration, let's review cardio pulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. When was the last time you took a CPR class? A year ago? 5? 10? Do you remember all the things you needed to do? All the compressions-to-rescue-breath numbers? No? You'll be happy to know, there's a new method. This ain't your Dad's CPR. It's called Hands Only CPR and it's effective and easy to learn. So easy that MySafe:LA's two resident EMTs, Todd Leitz and Cameron...

Did you know that you don't have to be hard of hearing to NOT hear your smoke alarm go off in the middle of the night? Education Director Cameron Barrett discusses smoke alarms with Nancy Trench, the Assistant Director of Fire Protection Publications at Oklahoma State University. Trench is a smoke alarm expert and speaks about the latest research into smoke alarm awareness and usage. Who's most likely to die in a fire because smoke alarms were not present or were disabled? Do children wake to...

How many smoke alarms are in your home? Are they all working? Are they in the right locations? If you don't know the answer to any of these questions, this podcast is for you! MySafe:LA Public Information Officer Todd Leitz chats with Deborah Hanson, the Director of External Affairs for First Alert, the smoke alarm manufacturer. First Alert and Debbie are great friends of MySafe:LA and have donated thousands of smoke alarms to MySafe:LA safety initiatives. Debbie is a smoke alarm expert, and...

MySafe:LA Executive Officer David Barrett chats with one of the most respected voices in fire prevention, Jim Crawford, the former Fire Marshal for Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. Crawford has more than 37 years of firefighting experience and is currently the Project Manager for Vision 20/20. Crawford and Barrett discuss smoke alarms, why people are still living without them and what can be done to convince those who are that the risks they're taking are life threatening. Support...

In our first fire and life safety podcast of the month, David Barrett speaks with Meri-K Appy, an internationally recognized fire and life safety expert. Meri-K has spent her professional life in public safety education. She was a consultant to MySafe:LA and part of the Vision 20/20 Coalition. She and David speak about the recent rash of fire fatalities in the city of Los Angeles. All these recent tragic fires have one thing in common - not one working smoke alarm was found in any of the...

Executive Officer David Barrett speaks with retired Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Greenup, who on January 17, 1994 was three stories below Los Angeles City Hall in the LAFD's dispatch center when the Northridge Earthquake struck. Greenup spent the day (and many after that) sending LAFD resources to the devastated areas of Los Angeles where people not only struggled when the ground started shaking but weeks and months after it had stopped. Support the show...

In our continuing series on the 20th Anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake, MySafe:LA Public Information Officer Todd Leitz speaks with retired LAFD Battalion Chief Steve Ruda. In 1994, Chief Ruda lived one mile from the Northridge Meadows Apartments and not much farther from the epicenter of the quake. He describes the preparations he had made, only a few weeks before, that created a sense of calm amidst the unbelievable chaos and destruction of that day. Support the show...

Executive Officer David Barrett sits down with the former Fire Marshal for the city of Los Angeles for our continuing special series on the 20th Anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake. Assistant Chief Donald Frazeur was a Captain II on January 17, 1994. He was at home when the earthquake struck, and some of his most vivid memories of that day came during what he calls his "surreal" drive into work, as he traveled from Ventura County across the San Fernando Valley.  Support the show...

Todd Leitz, MySafe:LA's Public Information Officer brings us the next installment of our special podcast series on the 20th Anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake. Todd sits down with Jayson Johnson, an LAFD firefighter/paramedic and father of four. Jayson had just finished fighting a fire and was on his way back to the station when his fire engine got one heck of a jolt. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

MySafe:LA Public Information Officer Todd Leitz talks with retired LAFD Captain Steve Owens who was a station commander at fire station 76 in the Cahuenga Pass of Hollywood 20 years ago. When the Northridge Earthquake shook him out of bed, Owens was immediately in earthquake mode, reviewing his escape options and preparing for the possibility of fire after earthquake. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

Our podcast series on the 20th Anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake continues with MySafe:LA Education Director Cameron Barrett's conversation with LAFD Battalion Chief Greg Gibson. 20 years ago, Gibson was a station commander in South Los Angeles, but less than an hour after the quake hit, he and his crew were on their way to the devastation in the San Fernando Valley. Support the show (https://www.mysafela.org/donate/)

MySafe:LA's Executive Officer David Barrett talks with one of the most instrumental figures in the Los Angeles Fire Department's response to the Northridge Earthquake 20 years ago. Assistant Chief Frank Borden (retired) was in charge of much of the department's resources that day, but he had also spent the decade prior to the Northridge Quake creating a new citizen volunteer responder corps he named CERT. On January 17, 1994, Borden watched his CERT volunteers serve a critical function in the...