Podcast Episode 66: Aleksander Edwards

Alison: Hello.

Jean : Hi there.

Alison: Today we get to talk to a hero, right?

Jean : A true hero? Yes… And, uh, I’ve never actually spoken to a fireman, one on one.

Alison: Oh. Me neither. Like, sometimes, if I’ve needed help, like that time we that we fell down. That I fell down?

Jean : Yes.

Alison: And they came and helped me. Right. Um. You were great then, by the way. Um. And they came and helped me, and they.

Jean : I waited for you on the trail. I just didn’t take off. Good luck to you.

Alison: Well, you were very sweet. You stood and gave me shade. Everyone was very kind. But the firemen were really great. The paramedic firemen that showed up and the fire truck, um…. And there have been fires here, and fires… It seems all over, like the weather has just been very intense and going through those fires this year.

Jean : Yes.

Alison: Really? We wanted to talk to someone that this is their job, you know?

Jean : Exactly. So we are really, uh, grateful to speak with Alexander Edwards.

Alison: Right. And we know his dad.

Jean : We know his dad, Edward Edwards.

Alison: He’s a wonderful actor.

Jean : And his lovely mom named Liis.

Alison: And so we were so lucky, he just, he became a captain. He’s a fire captain.  And I have to say, um,  i can’t wait to speak to him and just hear some tips and just hear what it’s like to to to be in his life. You know?

Jean : It’s going to be a whole new territory for me, so.

Alison: Me too. It’s going to be fun. So here he is, Alexander Edwards.

Alexsander : Hello.

Alison: Nice to meet you.

Alexsander : Nice to meet you, too.

Jean : I see a  little bit of your dad…do people…

Alexsander : Oh,  I have a lot of my dad. Yeah. I’m pretty…especially my mannerisms. Yeah. I’m very, very similar.

Jean : Well, I like your dad a lot.

Alexsander : Great.

Alison: Yes.

Alexsander : Very nice to meet you guys.

Alison: Hi, I’m Alison.

Jean : And I’m, Jean..

Alexsander :  yeah, good to meet you guys.

Alison: So thank you so much for doing this. You know, topics of fires, I guess…. The other day, there was a fire in new Jersey, and, um.

Alexsander : Oh, really?

Alison: Yeah. I read something on the news yesterday about it. Um, so it seems like, I don’t know, fires are just on everybody’s mind right now. So basically, could you tell us a little bit of how you chose this path?

Alexsander : Yeah, I, um, so I’ve been a firefighter with L.A. County Fire Department for about 13 years. I just got promoted to captain in November.

Alison: Congratulations!

Alexsander : Thank you. Um, so my big intro into it was basically growing up, my… I was friends with these two brothers, and, uh, they were like, my best friends growing up. And their dad was in LA city fire captain. Um, he’s kind of like my second dad. So you guys have met Edward, obviously, but, uh, yeah, he was the other dad that I grew up around the most, and so kind of getting exposed to him, and, um, he’s kind of lifestyle and what he did and everything like that was kind of my first introduction into that world or that opportunity, so to speak. Yeah.

Alison: And he was a fireman.

Alexsander : He was a fire captain with LA City Fire Department.

Alison: Wow. And did his children become firemen?

Alexsander : No, that’s the funny thing. Actually, no. So, my dad’s an actor. I became a firefighter. He was a fire captain, and his sons became an animator and a physical therapist.

Jean : That’s So it’s just funny.

Alexsander : Complete flip flop? Yeah. Complete flip flop. Yeah, yeah. I’m the only one that became, uh, became a firefighter out of the three of us.

Alison: Wow.

Jean : And is there like, a certain age that someone, uh, should really entertain seriously, becoming a firefighter, if that is something they want?

Alexsander : I think it happens differently for everybody. I mean, there’s some guys like I used to work with a guy who I asked him when, you know, because that’s kind of a common question. We have a lot of downtime with each other. And so you end up talking to guys. Um, there was one guy I talked to,  you know,  when did you decide you wanted to be a firefighter? And he was the kid, that when the firemen came to the school for a, you know, like a show me, when he was in kindergarten, he was the kid that got to have the helmet put on his head. And he was like, from from that moment on, that’s when he wanted to be one. Um, I, I went through college, um, I got hired when I was 28, so I, I had a whole other life before this. Um, but I kind of always thought about it might be a good job for me. Um, you guys know my dad… He’s not a firefighter, but my dad’s very socially conscious and was always very, uh, like, i remember one time we were sitting at this restaurant and there was a car accident outside, and my dad was the one guy in the restaurant that got up and ran out to go help the people, so I was raised around it, even though he wasn’t a part of it.

Alexsander : Um, and so I think I kind of always had that service idea or social responsibility in my background of what I was raised with. Um, but I just didn’t get to it in time. So. So for some people, they start when they’re 18 or 19. I liked that I had another life before it. Um, I think you bring some extra experience to the table when you, when you get that job. Um, also an appreciation for it. It’s a great job. But I always joke that, like, uh, it’s nice to kind of know what you know, other people do, like in a not having a 9 to 5 as opposed to like the jobs that because our schedules are so different. Um, yeah. So no, there’s no there’s no wrong age. I mean, there’s guys that don’t do it till they’re 40.

Alison:  wow.

Alexsander : Yeah, I think it’s it, it is to some extent a calling. Um, and there’s different ways to get to it. So. Yeah.

Alison: What is your schedule like?

Alexsander : So. I work –  L.A. County fire departments on what’s called a Kelly schedule… I don’t know why it’s called that. And some some person named Kelly must have invented it back in the day. Um, but we worked 24 hours. Um, so you’re there, uh, essentially 7 a.m. to 7 a.m.. Um, and we work ten days a month. Um, so basically works out to about 240 hours a month is, is how it’s scheduled. And then those days are basically, the way I describe it is there’s like a 3 day cycle of-   on a day, off a day, on a day, and then you’re off for two. And then, on a day, off a day, on a day, off for four. It never actually works out that way because guys pick up overtimes. You switch shifts, everything like that. But if you just work your schedule, that’s what you would work.

Alison: And like when you started, was it were you scared?

Alexsander : You know, I think it’s one of those things where just like anything, I think you don’t really know until you try it, right? Like, I mean,  I had some really, you know, obviously, I was around, uh, my best friend’s dad, Eric. And so he grew up listening to his stories from the firehouse, and his stories never bothered me. He’d tell me some fairly, you know, fireman…. We see some gruesome stuff. And so I would hear those stories, and those never bothered me. And the stories about fires he fought and those always sound exciting. And, um, and then before I became a firefighter, I got my EMT license and I did some stuff with that. And you don’t know about things until they, um, are presented to you. And I did some stuff with the EMTs, and it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. And then I became a firefighter. And you go through a fire academy and, um, you do live fire training. And I found that I was more excited than anything and just enjoyed it. And so, um, I mean, there are scary moments,  I think, you know, it’s just like anything, it’s like, honestly,  I’m sure my dad’s an actor… I think I’d probably be more scared to get up on stage in front of, like, a couple thousand people than I would be to run into a building at this point.

Alison: Yeah.

Jean : So, uh, Alex…So I’ve heard that the training to become a fireman is, is pretty intense. Would you say that it it was?

Alexsander : Yeah. Yeah, it definitely can be, um… It’s rigorous. Yeah.

Jean : Um, is there anything that shocked you, like… Oh, my God, I can’t believe we’re doing this?

Alexsander : You know, my department was really good at prepping us ahead of time for what it’s actually going to take. Um, so I kind of knew what it was going in. Um, anyone who’s looking, I have a couple people that I’ve helped get hired over the years. And the big thing that I, I quote to everybody, at least for my department, is cardio. You, um, going through the fire academy, it’s I think it’s now it’s either four months or six months. I can’t remember exactly, but the first ten weeks or so are just intense… They call it the grinder. And it’s because it grinds you in… You’re spending every day, um, pulling hose, practicing doing things… You’re not allowed,  it’s almost like it’s a boot camp, basically. Um, we don’t live there, but you’re there from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. ish, give or take. Um, you’re not allowed to, uh, walk when you’re going between classroom or and anything. You’re running everywhere. Uh, mine was in August. So in, uh, Pomona, so hot, you know, 100 to 100 degree days. And, um, just anybody who asked me, I said, the biggest thing you can do is cardio. I mean, you can do all the pushups in the world and all the, you know, your bench presses 315 or whatever, but if you can’t run, you’re going to get tired. And when you’re tired, then you can’t focus on what you’re doing. And that’s when you’re going to make mistakes. And unfortunately, some people do fail out of the academy because they just can’t keep up with, uh, the cardio or the rigorousness of it.

Alison:  Can I ask two stupid questions?

Alexsander : No, no stupid questions. Go ahead.

Alison: in that suit, is it incredibly hot?

Alexsander : It gets warm. It does? Yeah. You you start sweating almost immediately. And the other part of that, is that your gear is heavy. So like, I weighed myself when I wear my gear…. So I’m, I’m about 230 normally, and when I put my gear on I weigh over 300 pounds. So it’s about with the with the suit on the air, pack your, your axe, everything like that, you’ve got about 70 to 80 of extra weight on top of you. And then you’re having to, you know, then you’re climbing the stairs and doing the stuff with all of that on you as well. So you you start sweating almost immediately.

Alison: That’s amazing. And now here’s my second stupid question. Um, um, when you are called, like, you hear that bell go off, right, and you all jump on a truck and you go to a fire, do you all have jobs before… Jean and I were talking about this…. Do you all have jobs before you get to the fire? Like, okay, you’re going to do the hose, you’re going to climb a ladder?   And is that what you do all the time or does that rotate?

Alexsander : Uh, it rotates. Um, it’s most fire stations, like in my department, at least, they all do mostly the same thing, but everyone kind of has their own little flavor based on their districts, like some districts will have, a perfect example of this is, uh, we my department, uh, incorporates West Hollywood into it. West Hollywood has a lot of, um, high rise. So their district is really like they are our department’s experts on high rise because that’s what they have. And so, um, a lot of it’s dictated on where you sit on the, uh, on the truck or the engine and what your rank is. So I’m a captain now. So my job as a captain is to run the incident. And so I’m mostly on the radios and I’m being the safety watching out for my men and women. Um, the, the person who drives the engine is the engineer, and he’s either responsible for, uh, getting the water supply or, uh, raising the ladder on the big ladder trucks. And then the firefighters, their job is based on, um, where they’re sitting. So, like, on those big trucks with the guy in the back, uh, that’s what’s called the tiller. So my old station, the tiller was always responsible for putting up the first ladder. And what we call the inside man was, uh, responsible for grabbing, like, the chainsaws or pulling the hose. So, yes, we we and we train. We do a lot of training, and we train those positions. Um, but you will switch. So, like, just because you’re the tiller one day doesn’t mean you’re going to be the tiller every day. So like we, we do rotate. So you just become a better rounded firefighter that way. So some days you’re pulling the hose, some days you’re going to the roof and yeah, you alternate. Yeah.

Jean : Right. And I’m curious, so when you’re at the firehouse and there’s no fire, do you all have your own room? Is it like a dorm?

Alexsander :  It depends on the station. Um, there’s not a standardized station, uh, so to speak. Um, my department especially like LA County, um, we control parts of the county that are unincorporated, uh, areas like the Malibu Mountains, for example. And then we also control our cover, uh, contract cities. So my old station, when I was still a firefighter before I promoted, um, was in Gardena, and we actually took over Gardena, and we are housed in their stations. And Gardena had separate dorms for each, uh, personnel at the station. So I had my own room. Um, my new station is in Hawaiian Gardens down by Long Beach, and it’s an old county station. It’s an open dorm. So it’s me and two other personnel sleeping in the same dorm. Um, so it honestly, it really is, uh, station dependent. The new stations they’re making them with, everybody has their own room. Um, and that’s partially to accommodate, you know, we have more and more women working in the fire department, and the privacy issues, things like that. But the old, uh, the old stations kind of still have that open dorm, uh, open bathroom, open locker room kind of vibe to it. So they were working away from that, but we’re still in it, so to speak.

Jean : Are you eating your meals together and cooking?

Alexsander : Yeah, We cook or we go out.. We have a cook schedule. Um, some again, some stations have uh, they’re a little bit more rigorous with that. But we, yeah, we do a lot. We have a cook schedule, so, you know, my station is three guys. So every third shift, I’m the cook. Um, and we rotate some stations if you work there, you know, you’re going to be eating two meals. You’re gonna be cooking two meals if you’re the cook. Uh, do lunch and dinner. Um, Sundays is a big brunch day. You make, especially during football season, guys will usually make a big breakfast burrito or pancake brunch for the guys, and then do some kind of meal in the afternoon or something like that. So yeah, we try to have fun. We try to make it fun. Uh, holidays, you know, firefighters were not off on holidays, so we have to work Christmas. We have to work, you know, everything. And, um, a lot of the big stations will have, like, uh, I know the station up the street from me they have a bunch of guys working, so they did an Easter egg hunt for the kids at the station so that their kids could all come and be there and stuff like that. So they try to make it fun.

Alison: Oh, that’s. That’s very sweet. Do you do you have any memories of something where you had to grab someone out of a building and save them? Like, what is that experience? Have you ever done anything?

Alexsander : I haven’t. Let’s see. Oh I did, I actually did pull a lady out one time. Yeah I, I’ve had I pulled one lady out of a building or out of a, it was actually a detached garage that they had turned into a like a grandma suite, so to speak, and it was on fire and we pulled her out. She she ended up passing away the next day from her injuries. But, um, no, I mean, that’s that’s kind of what you, you train for and you, you don’t hope that it happens, but you’re happy when you get to do it. Um, they had a fire in Gardena. I wasn’t on it, but some of my best friends on the job were on it about a year ago, where they pulled four people out of the building. And it was it was pretty impressive. So, um, you know, it’s funny, you always feel like you’re going to be, you know, you grew up on those movies like Backdraft, where they, like, pick them up and and walk out. And when you actually do it, it’s not nearly as, um, cinematic as you think it’s going to be. Um, yeah. But we we did. We pulled a she was she was trapped inside the house. She was, uh, in a wheelchair. And so we pulled her out. But then unfortunately, her airway was so burned that she died the next day.

Alison: Oh. I’m sorry.

Alexsander : Yeah.

Jean : So I was curious that you bring up the movie, Backdraft. Is there a movie that you’ve seen that you feel really depicts the the life and the way a fireman moves in their in their job?

Alexsander : You know, i think it’s really a throwback and probably my generation and younger doesn’t really know about it, but I think probably the still the most accurate description of, uh, my experience with the fire service is actually the old, Emergency. If you guys ever watched Emergency. Yeah, that actually I think is the best like day to day description of kind of what we actually do. Um, you know, the new stuff like, Chicago Fire does a pretty good job. Um, obviously things are put to Hollywood spin on it. Um, there was that movie about the hotshot crews, uh, Only the Brave. I don’t know if you guys saw that? That was a very good movie. I wasn’t in a fire camp, but I’ve heard that that’s a very good, accurate description of what those guys go through. Um, I’m trying to think what other firefighter movies I’ve seen. I mean, Backdraft, I think Backdraft has to some extent, like the kind of station shenanigans and all that stuff. Obviously, again, like, there’s some Hollywood liberties, but yeah, for my for my money, if I was going to like, especially if my daughter gets older, I’m going to show her the old Emergency episodes so that she kind of sees what it’s like. Yeah.

Alison: So you have a family, right?

Alexsander : Yes…I have a daughter…A wife and a daughter and a dog.

Jean : Is the dog a female?

Alexsander : Yes. It’s me and three women.

Alison: so it’s guys on those Kelly schedule –  a lot of them… Um, so how is it for your family? Like, did they have any with your wife? Was it, like, hard or for her to be like, yeah, go do that?

Alexsander : You know, I was a firefighter when I met her, so she’s kind of never really known anything different, um, you know….  our schedule is hard, i mean, you know, I jokingly say, but it’s really true because, my wife’s a single mom half the month, you know, I’m gone. I’m scheduled ten days a month. But I really, in reality, work probably about 14 or 15 days at the station, so it really falls on her. We’re fortunate we have two great sets of grandparents that live nearby that help out a lot. But yeah, my wife is basically a single mom half the time. Um, and she’s really stepped up to that. And, you know, we do we do have like, you know, the family actually sacrifices a lot for it, for the career. It is, um, you know, and you have to bend things– like I was I was gone all of Easter, so, um, we did… The Easter Bunny came on Friday for us, you know, and I had to explain to him… Yeah, we we told my daughter, I was like, you know, everybody knows that firefighter children don’t get to be with their families on holidays, so he shows up early for them and she bought it.

Alison: It’s funny.

Alexsander : Yeah so he’s  magical, so he knows these things. But yeah, you just adjust. I was also gone on Christmas. So, um, you either have it at the station or you adjust it, but yeah, at some level, there’s a lot of benefits that come from the job. But your family, you’re not the only one working. Your family definitely is working as well,  and it’s not to the same level, but kind of like what military families go through, I’m sure.

Alison: And how do you feel like with your firehouse of other firemen, like, do you become so bonded or are you guys rotating within…?

Alexsander : you do you get very close with your guys. I, uh, I just promoted to a new station in a new area… When you promote, they usually move you somewhere else to kind of get your, um, to, you know, feel feel out the rest, you know, it puts you in a, in a spot to, like, learn your job a little bit, so to speak. Um, but before I promoted, I had been in the same area for about ten years, and so most of the guys in that area, I knew them. Um, my, you know, my crew was some of my best friends. Um, but I actually really like my new crew, too. I got a new crew of guys I didn’t know from before, and it’s been working out great. So,  yeah, you spend a lot of time with them. A lot of time. You see some really gnarly stuff. Um, and, uh, these are guys that, at the end of the day,  are there if something happens, you expect them to pull you out of a building. So you, you spend a lot of time with them and really kind of you get to know them pretty well.

Alison: Yeah. Yeah.

Jean : Okay. So I’m curious, Alex, if when, when you get a notification like let’s say, oh, there’s a huge fire up in in Big Bear. How how is it that you’re able to share firemen to go from LA to go up to Big Bear?

Alexsander :  That does happen. We have, um, we have mutual aid contracts with different agencies. So, um, you know, whether it’s with the feds or with Cal Fire, who Cal Fire is basically, it really kind of comes down to who’s like, for lack of a better term, who’s dirt it is. We always talk about that in the fire services, who owns the dirt. Um, and we will have mutual aid with those departments. So, um, you know, there’s federal, we have federal lands within California. So those are controlled by federal firefighting. We have Cal Fire, which runs a lot of the state, um, then my departments, county. So, um, you know, for example, the, uh, the Woolsey Fire,  if you guys remember that in Malibu, it broke out in Malibu, but it ended up going into state land, into state parks. And so Cal Fire took it over and we worked in conjunction with them. And so, um, depending on where there there is a fire and who has mutual aid, We do have like my department has what are called, um, strike teams. And some of those strike teams are designated as, uh, they’ll go out of county, um, and, uh, it’s basically like a strike team is, um, a group of engines with a chief. And so, like, I, I haven’t gone that many times, but I was on one strike team that we ended up in Fresno on fire in 2016. Um, so  we will have that, um, mutual aid with other fire departments. And you saw after the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire driving around, you’d see people from Denver and all over the place. It was it was really like a multiple, multiple thing. So. Yeah.

Alison: And, so you know, you’re like a hero. Everyone, you know, you’re a hero. So do you…. are you aware of that? Does that feel like something to you? Do you like,you’re just a hero that’s walking around, like going to Vons? Like it’s kind of…

Jean : Your like superman without without the cape on.

Alexsander : I think for most of us, we, we take a lot of pride in what we do. And, and we appreciate the love that the public has for us. But we also understand that that comes with a lot of responsibility to uphold that. And um,  there is there’s a lot of responsibility with that. We’re very proud of what we do, but we also appreciate the amount of support that we get from the public for for what we do. And also on day to day, it’s a job for us. So we do feel that pride. But it’s also like, you know, I think you do anything you eventually kind of just get used to, like having a job. It sounds weird to say that, but like, I remember years ago I went skydiving in New Zealand and talking to the guy that was my skydiving instructor, he was kind of like, ho hum, here we go. Another jump. And I was like, skydiving? And he’s like, yeah, this is like my fifth one today. You know? It’s just like you do anything enough. It kind of becomes normal..

Alison: This is going to sound, maybe.. do you cry;   like do you like sometimes just like after a fire, you guys come back and just feel emotion and like, is there that kind of thing…???

Alexsander :  I think fires,  I mean I can’t speak for every firefighter, but fires are fun. And I mean, I hate to say that because when there’s a fire and, you know, I, I lost my house in the Palisades fire…. So I understand now on even more of a level where people are coming from. But fires are fun. It really is like if you have this, maybe it’s something wrong in my brain and all the other firefighters, but you really, I really enjoy fighting fire. It’s it’s what we train to do and it’s fun. The hard part is that we’re  also a medical department. Before I promoted, I was a paramedic. Um, the ones that,  the calls that really get you are the kids. So I’ve been on a couple, uh, kids and teenager fatalities, whether car accidents or drownings, those are the ones that really affect you. Um, yeah, they just recently I wasn’t on this one, but recently my guys just actually saved a kid who was drowning, and they got him out and did CPR and got him back, and he’s fine. Which is amazing. But unfortunately, that doesn’t always go the way you want it to. So I’ve been on quite a few of those, um, that those do affect you. I think kids, more than anything affect you, and I think most people would attest to that. Um, adults are hard, but, you know, it’s kids are just the ones. But yeah, fires. Fires are fun. I mean, for us. And I do understand someone’s losing their property, but when you you spend so much time training and preparing for something, when you actually get to do it, you’re very excited.

Alison: Yeah, right.

Jean : Can you share a couple of, let’s say, two tips that our listeners can take away with that can help safeguard their home from from fires?.. Yes.

Alexsander : I mean, I think the biggest thing that I always tell everybody is make sure that your smoke alarms and your, uh, carbon monoxide detectors are up to date. It’s amazing. You know, we go in my my station right now, we go in about ten houses a day between medical calls and this, that and the other. And it’s amazing to me the amount of people whose houses you walk into. And you hear that little chirp going off, and you’re like, your smoke alarms dying. Yeah. Um, those actually do really save lives. It’s crazy to say, but they do. And carbon monoxide as well. Like, um, don’t discount that. That would be my probably my number one tip. And then, um, probably the other thing that comes to mind for me again is like someone who just went through the Palisades fire is having a plan of what, you know, if you need to evacuate during a wildfire, like having a plan of where you’re going to go, what you need to bring and how you’re going to get there. Um, because, uh, it happens really fast. And so if you kind of practice that ahead of time, Um, and even, like, we live in an apartment building now, just going over with my daughter, like, okay, if your house is on fire, our apartment is on fire, where are you going to go? Um, just having a plan of how you’re going to get out of your place if it does catch on fire, um, is super important. So just just things like that, um, knowing how to shut off your utilities, it’s kind of always wild to me how many people don’t know how to do that, um, or where they are or where they are. Yeah. Just knowing how to shut off. Just your basic just gas, electrical and, um, gas, electrical and water, like, can save a lot of stuff if you have a, you know, a fire on your stove that’s spread into and you know how to shut off your gas, you can, you know, shut some of that down, so to speak. Or if you have an electrical outlet that’s sparking and catching and you know how to shut down the electrical to your house, you can stop that from happening, you know, to some extent. So, um, just knowing those things are important. But yeah, I would say, I would say those are probably my biggest tips that I tell my friends is like working smoke detector and uh, co alarm are super important. Um, knowing your utilities and having a plan if your house does catch on fire.

Jean : Okay. And just does the fire department, if you call them and you say, hey, can you come out to my house and make sure that my smoke alarm is working? Like, let’s say it’s super high up in the ceiling. Do you offer that or is that something.

Alexsander : That’s not usually. Yeah, that’s not usually what we do. Um, if if you call us because you’re having a malfunction and we show up, we’ll do that for you. But, um, if it usually if it’s chirping, that means it needs either a battery. I mean, most modern places are now having them hardwired in, so you don’t ever have to worry about a battery. Um, yeah. So, um, in that case, uh, if and if it is hardwired in usually those are through a company. So what we would say is call the company. If you’re having a malfunction, we’ll come out and make sure you’re not having a fire. But after that, we will recommend that you call whoever installed them and they’ll come and fix it. Um, if it is just chirping because it needs a battery, i mean that’s an easy fix. You just pull it out, put a new battery in and put it back up.

Alison: Um, if you can’t get out, where is the safest place to be in your home during a fire?

Alexsander : Um, I mean, if it’s. Yeah, if you if you can’t get out, probably the best thing to do is if you can get to a room that’s not involved in the fire. So, for example, if your kitchen is on fire and you can’t get out of your bedroom, close your door. Uh, our doors are rated most modern doors are rated to take some level of fire impingement and, uh, close your door. And then everybody, you usually have your cell phone with you. Let dispatch know when you call 911. Let them know what room you’re in and what part of the house you’re in. So if you’re talking to dispatch, say, hey, I’m trapped. I’m in the back, back part back room of my house. Um, you know, and you can say there’s a big there’s a big window or something like that, because we’ll get to you. If we know where you are, we will get to you. Um, but there’s so many people that they get scared and they don’t close that door because they want to try to. But, like, if you close that door, then you’re going to at least stop some level of smoke and fire from getting into that room. You basically are isolating yourself and buying yourself some time. So, um, I think what you don’t want to do is hide under a bed or like, you know, hide in a closet where we can’t find you. Um, but staying low, obviously, smoke and fire go up. So staying low, closing doors will buy yourself some time, while we’re waiting for you or coming to get you, so to speak.

Alison: And what could we do? Like, like the public to help you guys? Like, like, do you like it when people bring brownies to the station, or is there a fund to help you guys, or what can we do to support you and help you guys?

Alexsander : I mean, we’ve got a lot of support. I think you guys always really support us. We just had a tax initiative recently that everyone voted for. And so I think that’s just like we as the fire department just benefit from just like this outpouring of love that you guys have for us. Um, I mean, brownies are always fine, but we don’t expect them. Yeah, we’re we’re all, i mean, you can tell by looking at me, I’m pretty well fed. So, uh, um, but,  I mean, it’s honestly, some of the fun is just when we drive down, everybody always waves at us and wave at us and stuff like that. So, no, you guys, we feel very supported just by, you know, tax initiatives that people pass and everything like that for us.

Jean : I used to do some volunteer work at the Children’s Burn Foundation in Los Angeles.

Alexsander : Wow. Yeah.

Jean : And we would have our annual holiday party at the fire department. And, you know, the firemen would come out and embrace the children and talk about, uh, you know, how to respect a fire rather than play with it as if you know there was no consequence. But actually, um, you know, um, if a, if a candle knocks over what to do and, and things like.

Alison: That’s great.

Jean : And, uh,  you are part of an amazing organization.

Alison: Yeah.

Alexsander : Thank you.

Alison: We’re so happy to speak to you because, uh, so often, like, you just see people you’re waving on trucks, or you buy a group of firemen lunch, but you don’t get to say what’s…. You know? So thank you

Alexsander : No problem. It’s a it’s a great job. Um, it’s not for everybody, obviously. Like, um, but if you like being of service and, you know, it’s a great it’s a great job there, there’s definitely– you’re going to see some gnarly stuff-I’ve seen, I’ve seen more than my fair share of gnarly stuff in only 13 years. But you’re also going to work with a great group of guys, and, um, at the end of the day, you feel a lot of job satisfaction.

Alison:  And we’re saying guys meaning women, but just like fire people.

Alexsander : Yes. Yeah. Sorry. I’m using the guys like both genders.

Alison: I’m from the Bronx. And I say, hey, you guys, and I’m talking to Jean. So it’s the same. Yeah.

Alexsander : Yeah- more and more women are getting hired into the fire service. Um, and, uh, definitely the job is, uh, transforming and changing and not becoming just like, you know, the stereotypical, like, 1930s, what you used to see. It’s a lot more, um, representative of what our community looks like, um, so, yeah,  it’s open to everybody. Um, is that it’s hard work, but if you like working hard and helping people, it’s it’s a good job.

Jean : Nice.

Alison: And when you…. I don’t know if you feel up to talking about it, but you said you lost your home in the Palisades Fire. So that’s very– I don’t know –that brings up emotion for me. Like, how did that inform you or how did that change you? Or did it change you at all or.???

Alexsander : Oh yeah. I mean, it’s very, very, very changing. Yeah. I, um, you know,  we lived in a mobile home park on PCH there, and, uh, the entire park’s gone. I mean, other than there’s some randomly one house survived, but, you know,  we lost everything. Um, it’s definitely given me more interest and perspective into what people have gone through in previous fires. Like I said, I was on the Woolsey Fire in 2018, um, and saved a bunch of houses, but also saw a lot of houses burned down and definitely gives me a little bit more insight into, like, what those people went through. Yeah. Um, i stayed back and tried to save our, our neighborhood, but it just didn’t – it didn’t play out for us.

Alison: So sorry.

Jean : Very, very much so.

Alexsander : Yeah. Thank you.

Alison: Yeah. Should we ask our last two questions? So our podcast is called Inside Wink, and we were wondering what you think that might mean.

Alexsander : Inside wink to me would be… I’ve thought about it before because you mentioned something about it. Uh, to me, it would just be like a kind of like an inside joke between two people. Like a knowing wink. So if, uh, like, me and my wife do it a lot around my daughter, like, she’ll say, we’ll say something to my daughter, and then I’ll look at my wife and give her a wink like that. And that’s that to me is an inside wink. Like an inside joke between two people.

Alison: I love that, that’s great.

Alison: That’s perfect. Perfect answer.

Jean : And then our last question, Alex, is, do you prefer cake, pie or ice cream?

Alexsander : All right… Can I have two? Yes. My my dad’s chocolate cake and Apple Pan’s banana cream pie. Those are my favorites.

Jean : That’s old school.

Alexsander : Yeah, those are my two choices.  Yeah, my dad makes an amazing chocolate chocolate cake and banana cream pie from Apple Pan is like my other favorite.

Alison: Wow.  We have to ask your dad about the cake.

Alexsander : Oh, yeah.  you should definitely get some at some point. It’s really rich, but it’s very good.

Jean : Great.

Alison: Thank you so much. And thank you for everything. You do –  really.

Alexsander : Well. Thanks for the opportunity I appreciate it.

Jean : Your life is such a blessing and we wish you all the best, you and your family.

Alexsander : thank you so much.

Alison: Thank you so much. Have a great day.

Alexsander : You too. Bye now.

Jean : Bye.

Alison: I thought he was so wonderful, right? Because he’s so like he’s like, well it’s my job. And yeah, I enjoy fighting fires like all the things that like, I think I would just be like crying the whole time. You know??

Jean : I think, it’s so true  to how heroes move in the world that they don’t really… That’s the thing… You don’t look at yourself as a hero, like, oh, here I’m coming to save the day. Um, it’s his job, and he’s very good at it. And, uh.

Alison: Exactly. And and I and and God bless him. And God bless his family. Like. Yeah, I know my dad was deputy police commissioner, and I think that was nerve wracking for my mother. Like when even when he would go on assignments somewhere and at that day you couldn’t reach each other. And so I have a little bit of the sense of the trepidation that families. But I love that, he says, you know, that they’re really a part of that job because, everyone needs to be on board.

Jean : True. Everyone has to be okay with with their hours. And because you don’t want to be at the firehouse and then think, oh, my wife hates that I’m here, right?

Alison: I got a caller. Yeah, right.

Jean : She’s Giving me a hard time that I’m at work, so.

Jean :  It is a total family  “yes” type job. And I  would have loved to have talked to him a little bit more about the details of running, you know.

Alison: Yes.

Jean : How does it feel when you pull up to the house or a place and you see the fire? But, um. Yeah, he was great.

Alison: He was great. So thank you so much –  firemen all over the world. And and and thank you so, so much for saving us.

Jean : And and we know that there’s so much more going on that we don’t we’re still not privy to… But this was a great little peek into your world.

Alison: That’s right. And, um, if you do see a fireman, let’s all try to wave to them or buy them a cup of coffee or something. Just just give them a.

Jean : Or brownies or cookies.

Alison: Or go right to brownies.

Jean : Apple pan apple pie and banana cream pie.

Alison: That’s right. So just think about that next time you’re out and about. And thank you. Thanks, Jeannie.

Jean : Thank you, Kathleen Noone, for introducing us to to this wonderful man and to Edward Edwards, the father of Alex. Thank you all.

Alison: Thanks.  Bye bye.