We were sad to learn that long-time member Hal Lazar recently died. Hal was a very active member of PVP Rotary for over 15 years as an officer of the club, official photographer and volunteer in the Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance.
PVP Rotary Community Service Projects on November 16: Volunteers Needed
Rise Against Hunger (packing meals for third world countries) on Nov. 16th, 9-12noon at the YMCA in Torrance: Contact Duncan Sutton to volunteer.
Mobile Medical Clinic at Beacon House in San Pedro (dentists, doctors, nurses, & eyecare professionals attending to those in need) on Nov. 16th, 7:30am-5pm: Contact Juliet DeMoss to volunteer.
PVP Rotary Club Nominating Committee: If you are interested in serving on the Nominating Committee, contact Kath Anderson.
Recognition: President Sidler presented Marc Mazorow the 100% Attendance Banner. Derald announced our club, during Marc’s year as president, ranked in the top eight of District 5280 clubs’ donations to the RI Foundation.
Program: FIGHTING FIRES
Our program speaker was LACFD Capt. Jeane Barrett in charge of the fire station located in Rolling Hills Estates on Indian Peak Road. She is the highest-ranking woman firefighter in the Fire Department. Also joining us were three members of her crew including a Firefighting Specialist, Paramedic and Firetruck Driver. Capt. Barrett entertained us with lively stories about her public service career starting as a County Lifeguard, then Paramedic and currently LACFD Firefighter. We learned a lot about the dangers and skills required to fight fires in urban, marine and open terrain environments.
Capt. Barrett reserved half of her 30 minutes for the club members’ questions – most of which focused on evacuation if there is a major fire on the PV Peninsula. The challenge is there are few routes to exit the area which means that the entire Peninsula could not be evacuated all at once. However, fires on the Peninsula because of our topography will start small, allowing the Firefighters to evacuate portions of the population as needed according to identified evacuation routes. The most important thing residents can do for their own safety is to trust the infrastructure for evacuation and obey Firefighters’ instructions. As long as there is not wide-spread panic the evacuation for the Peninsula will work. The LACFD is working with law enforcement, city governments and other agencies to implement state-of-the art technology for a comprehensive communication system for the entire South Bay including the Peninsula. This involves many federal, state, and local agencies and takes time but will be very important to the area in the event of emergencies and disasters.
When asked what we can do as individuals to protect our homes, Capt. Barrett recommended two booklets at fire.lacounty.gov “READY!SET!GO!” and “A Guide to DEFENSIBLE SPACE: Ornamental Vegetation Maintenance.”
In Memoriam
In loving memory of Hal Lazar
We will certainly miss all the laughter, smiles, and great photos that Hal brought to our lives. Hal was a great Rotarian and will be dearly missed.
