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Washington Post

For Los Angeles firefighters, the Oscars were a bright spot in a bleak time

LOS ANGELES When 12 of greater Los Angeles's firefighters took the stage at the Oscars on Sunday night, they got a standing ovation so big you could hear it the lobby bar. Screams filled the Dolby Theatre, which had been evacuated in early January when one wildfire ripped through the Hollywood Hills. Onstage, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott earned his laughs, joking, 'Our hearts go out to all of those who have lost their homes … and I'm talking about the producers of 'Joker 2.'' He and his fellow firefighters would take Monday off, but after that, it would be back to work — back to 5 a.m. wake-up calls, back to heartbreaking days, back to being on constant alert in a city that has barely recovered from the destruction wrought by the fires this winter, where the work continues because it's now rainy season and mudslides have shut down the Pacific Coast Highway indefinitely. Was Scott tearing up as the crowd cheered? 'Maybe!' he told The Washington Post on Sunday, laughing sheepishly in the Dolby lobby after the bit. 'I was not expecting for them to have that standing ovation for that long. I put my head down, and they got louder. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, we're not worthy.'' He kept emphasizing that they're mere representatives of thousands of firefighters in the L.A. area. 'It was a big night for me, though!' joked Capt. Adam VanGerpen, pulling up a photo of himself holding two Oscars, on loan from the production designers of 'Wicked.' 'I talked to one of the guys and he lives on Topanga Canyon, and my fire station used to protect the Topanga Canyon.' This Hollywood awards season has been as Tinseltown-focused as ever, but for good reason. The devastating wildfires that swept through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, destroying tens of thousands of homes and businesses and killing 29, broke out two days after the Golden Globes. At first, it seemed like awards season might have to be put on hold. Every subsequent event was paused, rescheduled or reassessed as organizers tried to figure out how to honor the artistic achievements of an industry that is the lifeblood of this city without seeming indifferent to the struggles of so many. Inviting first responders to the awards shows and honoring their hard work and sacrifices — beginning with the Grammys and continuing through the Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards, all the way through to the Oscars — has allowed the Los Angeles music and film communities to give thanks. But it's also had an unexpected benefit: allowing these firefighters a moment of rest and levity. It was, as Scott says, 'a nice tactical pause for us to be away from work.' Many of the firefighters on the Oscars stage had been deployed for 28 days straight after the fires began, either actively fighting fires in the hardest-hit areas or getting information to the public. A month later, they were back out there, responding to life-threatening mudslides from heavy rains that even swept one firefighter's car into the ocean. They've got a story to tell while the stage is theirs. Since the fires, Scott says he's been dealing with a lingering cough and wheezing, as are others, because even a mask can't protect you from breathing in toxic smoke for 28 days straight. 'We worked to our detriment, to where the smoke inhalation is affecting us, and no one has recuperated from the sleep deprivation,' he said while coughing. He has been put on breathing treatments, and researchers from the University of Arizona have given him and many others a full blood panel to test for heavy metals as part of a multiyear cancer study because of all the particles from vehicles with lithium batteries that were floating in the air. The immediate dangers are over, but the long-term ones will persist, and they are similar to those faced by first responders on and after 9/11 — something Scott is eager to explain to anyone who will listen, from the Hollywood A-list on down. 'I'm okay talking about this because it kind of bears weight to the public that we're affected,' Scott said. 'It's part of the inherent dangers of our chosen profession.' Among the firefighters on the Grammys stage in early February were five who had lost their homes in the Altadena fire. The LAFD members at the Screen Actors Guild Awards included members of Fire Station 23 in the Palisades. At each show, the firefighters found themselves more popular than most celebrities in the room, with attendees clamoring to take photographs with them. 'Firefighters in general, we want to come to work, do our job, put the fire out, and we're there to help people,' VanGerpen said. 'We're not looking for recognition. We don't need praise. So we're not used to that. It's overwhelming for the amount of recognition that we're getting, not just by these awards, but by just the general public coming by the fire station.' They had so many supplies dropped off at various fire stations that they had to get flatbed trucks to spread the love around. Long Beach's Jake Heflin called going to these shows 'humbling' and 'an experience I'll never forget.' He got Selena Gomez and Kieran Culkin to sign his 9-year-old stepdaughter's autograph book, and jokingly thanked the Academy at his battalion chief promotion ceremony on Tuesday. Scott called it 'surreal.' It wasn't so long ago that he was out at the Palisades, giving interviews to local news in 99-mph winds that jerked his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame around like he was paper. In the field, the LAFD had plenty of celebrity encounters, often with no fanfare and no cameras present. Jay Leno brought barbecue on his vintage fire truck to the Palisades base camp multiple times and would spend all night serving food. Gary Sinise did the same. Singer Steven Tyler invited the LAFD members to his Grammys after-party and then showed up at Station 69 in the Palisades and just hung out. VanGerpen's favorite, though, was 'J.T.' — Justin Turner — the former Dodger who came out with his wife to serve firefighters food till 8 p.m. and then just chilled in the kitchen at the station, FaceTiming everyone's kids. 'He's like a hero to these guys. That's probably the No. 1 guy these guys want to see.' But that doesn't mean the firefighters weren't geeking out at these awards shows, too. 'I mean, it's fun, right?' said Lyndsey Lantz, a public information officer and paramedic who was on the Oscars stage. 'It's L.A. being L.A. I know [some people think] we shouldn't be partying yet or celebrating yet. But I think they're being really respectful … and we're also doing what makes us happy.' At the Oscars, as Timothée Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner exited the theater, firefighter and helicopter pilot Jonith Johnson Jr. was the one person to grab a selfie with them. He's the one who delivered the joke about Chalamet singing so well he almost lost the part of playing Bob Dylan. To Johnson, who battled wind and smoke to do water drops on the wildfires, being on the Oscar stage was 'nerve-racking,' he said. But because he has a lot of calming techniques from being a pilot, 'I just made it happen,' he said. When VanGerpen, a public information officer who was deployed in the Palisades for 28 days, went to the Critics Choice Awards on Feb. 7, he found himself sitting next to the cast of 'The Diplomat.' He had just binged the whole show — but they wanted a photo with him. Scott was thrilled to bond with Angelina Jolie at the CCAs. He also met Kathy Bates, who used her acceptance speech for best actress in a TV drama to thank the LAFD, adding that her 'Matlock' producer Eric Olsen had lost his home in the Palisades. At the SAGs, he reconnected with Harrison Ford, who had flown his helicopter to Malibu to do PSAs for the wildfires in 2018 and is offering his services again. 'He said, 'Hey, use me.' Can you imagine?' Scott said. Other than Johnson, almost none of the firefighters were caught up on Oscar films. When would they have had the time? 'I'm used to knowing like 80 percent of what's up there,' said Lantz. Scott said he sat through the Oscars dress rehearsal, watching the trailers as actors pretended to accept awards, 'And I go, 'Oh, that looks good. I can't wait to get a free minute to watch one of them.'' Heflin added that the firefighters felt as if they were performing a service at these shows by just listening to people, even celebrities, process what they have been through. The fires were a traumatic event for the city, of a magnitude no one had experienced before. 'And that will be something that takes a long time to recover from,' Heflin said, 'not only the loss of property, the loss of lives, but also the emotional, physical, mental toll that the incidents have brought forth.' The power of community was perhaps best on display at the SAG after-party inside the Shrine Auditorium. An hour in, most of the big names had left, but cheers could be heard at the back of the room, where several enthusiastic, unfamous attendees had roped several LAFD firefighters into a raucous dance party. Everyone was dropping to the ground for Mary J. Blige, Meek Mill, Notorious B.I.G. An LAFD member and a civilian got into a Kendrick Lamar lip-synch rap battle. A guy in a white jacket jumped in, popping and locking with some of the best dance moves you've ever seen. He turned out to be Christopher Scott, who choreographed 'Wicked,' and the guy filming the whole thing on his camera was director Jon M. Chu. A week later, after the Oscars dress rehearsal, Scott and VanGerpen were speaking with The Washington Post in the lobby of the Loews Hotel in Hollywood when the very man who had started the dance party, Recio Young, came over to give them hugs. Young, a jovial guy who was working on media logistics at the SAGs, had exchanged numbers with the firefighters he had met and had been texting with his new friends all week. He wants to use his connections to set up a fundraiser for them. 'He's just trying to get on the firefighter calendar,' his friend Angelita Cole, who was in the dance circle and had headed up the SAGs' media logistics team, interjected. 'She keeps joking about the firefighter calendar, because of all the hot firefighters,' Young said. Young comes from a family of cops and state troopers and says it was important the first responders 'experience a good time and not just be like, 'Oh, it's a bunch of rich people walking around with their gowns.' We didn't want them to feel like they were just trophies or something. I wanted them to feel like they were part of something, they were part of our community, and we appreciate them.' 'We started going around saying, 'All firefighters, report to the dance floor!'' Cole said. José Pérez, a 27-year veteran of the LAFD, said this is the first time in all his years on the job he'd had the chance to go to an event like this. A firefighter-paramedic stationed in the Hollywood Hills, he wasn't starstruck, but he was excited to meet Brooke Shields, whom he had grown up watching; she came over and hugged everyone at the table. For him, the after-party was the highlight, a single night to blow off steam before returning to work. 'It's cool to see that we got the party started,' he said. 'I mean, how often do you see a fireman in full uniform busting down on the dance floor?'