Firemen Save 18 Lives in Baldwin Hills Flood
On the afternoon of December
14th, 1963, with swift suddenness, improbable tragedy struck the Baldwin Hills section of
Los Angeles. Lost homes, ruined property and even death flooded downward on a broad river
of rushing water from the broken dam at the head of Cloverdale Road. Automobiles,
fragments of houses, and chunks of concrete were rolled and jammed like logs down the
flume of the flood's path to the bottom and deposited in incongruous heaps on the ruins of
Village Green, which minutes before had been a quiet Saturday-relaxed apartment community.
In the rushing disaster
unwary residents were trapped. On roofs, in second floor rooms, on small insecure
islands of debris, they signaled desperately for help.
And help was swift to come.
Distinguished among the rescuers were Fire Department members who reported to the
scene. Their training, courage and knowledge of how to act in emergency situations
made their help more significant than that of any other agency.
Unique in the rescue effort
was the work of the three helicopter pilots dispatched to the scene, Fireman Theodore M.
"Bud" Nelson, Crash 90-C, Fireman Ross H. Reynolds, Crash 90-B and Fireman
Howard L. Payne, Crash 90-C.
The story is best introduced
by excerpts from the official report of Battalion Chief Lynn W. Nelson.
"Eighteen persons were
rescued and flown out to a safe location . . . at least six of these, and quite possibly
more, could not have been rescued in any other way an would have been lost except for the
fire dep't. helicopter.
"Mr. Don Sides, KTLA-TV
helicopter pilot and broadcaster, was flying over the flood area during almost all of the
rescue operations. He personally saw and reported on much of the activity of the
fire dep't. helicopter. Mr. Sides is a helicopter pilot of long standing and fully
appreciated the hazards and flying problems involved. In conversation with him he
stated that he saw the fire dep't. helicopter go into places and make rescues under
conditions that required not only a very high degree of skill and flying efficiency but a
great deal of courage to even attempt. He felt that no other pilot present, and
certainly not himself, had the training and the ability to make the rescues performed by
our pilots."
Incidents quoted from
official reports of the pilots speak for themselves of heroism.
From Firemen Ross H.
Reynolds' report: "Two elderly women were spotted in the Baldwin Hills Village
area clinging to the top of a six foot fence. The helicopter landed on a garage roof
approximately seventy five feet from the women. Fireman Nelson remained in the
helicopter while I proceeded with a lifeline toward the victims. The water at this
point was five feet deep and flowing very swiftly . . . ."
Describing another
incident the report reads: "There was no problem in finding people who needed
assistance, only in determining where the need was the greatest. A woman was
observed on a front porch waving frantically. It was possible to land the helicopter
about two hundred feet north of her location on what remained of a front yard. The
streets and sidewalks no longer existed, only rushing water. Upon reaching the
woman, she informed me that she was a nurse and had a heart patient who needed immediate
attention . . .I carried the patient to the landing site . . ."
From another portion of
Reynolds' report: "With Firemen Payne riding as observer, we returned to the
stranded people and made a landing on the roof of a two story apartment building.
Fireman Payne left the helicopter and leaned over the edge of the roof to reach two
infants who were handed to him . . ."
And another . . . "At
5:10 p.m. a man was observed at a second floor window unable to get out because of debris
piled against the door. The building was crumbling and only three walls remained.
A landing was made on a sandbar, surrounded by swift flood waters, in a courtyard
adjacent to the building . . . Fireman Payne left the helicopter to assist the woman . .
."
Most dramatic of all is the
report of Fireman Bud Nelson. In a few short paragraphs the rescue drama unfolds.
Bud had sighted people in distress, and returned from a mission to rescue them:
"When I arrived over the garage," his report states, "the part where
I originally thought I might be able to land had collapsed and was under water . . . The
part of the garage that still looked strong enough to land on had trees on the North and
East sides and the limbs hung over the garage just enough so that there was not enough
room for the rotor blades to clear. I decided to gamble a little as the water was
still getting deeper (about 8 or 9 feet deep by now). I hovered in very slowly from
the Southwest corner of the garage with my skids about 1 to 2 feet above the roof and
started to clip the smaller lower branches from the trees with the rotor blades. I
was finally able to move in far enough to get a solid place for the skids . . .
"Two older women were up
to their shoulders in mud and water and hanging on to a patio wall or fence by the
apartment next to the garage. The patio partially protected them from the very swift
current, but they were in serious trouble and needed help soon to survive. I left a
man on the garage roof and returned for him later."
Nelson flew two of the
victims to the top of the dam site, then his report continues: "Fireman Pilot
Ross Reynolds (with whom I had made previous arrangements before leaving Van Nuys Airport)
met me at this time and I told him about the two old ladies in the water. He quickly
obtained a rope and although attired in expensive civilian slacks, shoes and white shirt
volunteered to make the rescue attempt. When we reached the garage again Reynolds
helped the man into the helicopter and immediately went to the rescue of the two older
women . . .
"As soon as I dropped
off the man I returned to the garage roof and clipped a few more branches while trying to
find a good solid spot to land because this time I could see that I would have to get out
of the helicopter to help Reynolds. By the time I had landed, Reynolds had the
older of the two women inside of the patio and was lifting the other one into the patio.
The water was still up to their arm pits, but the current was not bothering them
inside the patio. I don't know just how Reynolds got over to them in the first place
because all I remember seeing was a torrent of water racing between the garage and the
back of the patio fence when he got out of the helicopter. When I got out of the
helicopter to help a lot of floating rubble had lodged between the garage and the
apartment against a tree and the patio wall. I worked my way across this to where I could
reach the older of the two women, and then we started back to the garage."
There is more--much more--that
tells of resourcefulness and devotion to the saving of lives. To sum up, Chief
Nelson's report says it best.
"May I call to your
attention," he says, "that these rescues involved not only the flying hazards
but, in many cases, the problem of rescuing the victims from the water before getting them
to the helicopter. Our men, with ropes tied to them, actually allowed themselves to
be swept out by the swift current to a position for rescue of victims. I do not
differentiate between the men on specific rescues because each man risked his life several
times during the day . . .
"It is my opinion that these
men--Reynolds, Nelson, and Payne--not only proved beyond doubt the value and efficiency of
our helicopter program and the training that has gone into it, but that they displayed a
dedication to their profession and a courage that was beyond the normal call of duty.
They each placed their lives on the line time and time again, without regard to
their own safety to save the lives of citizens of this city, and were successful in so
doing."
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