Firefighters Security

Lingering anxiety over firefighters' safety has prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to curtail response to some non-emergency calls in riot-torn sections of the city in recent weeks, triggering criticism from residents and City Council members that the agency is not providing equitable service to minority neighborhoods.

Lenny Edelman joined this city's Fire Department eight years ago for the physical challenge of pulling people from burning buildings and the humanitarian challenge of saving lives. But along the way, Edelman has twice had to dodge bullets and was shot in the thigh while on duty in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots.

Blame for the Los Angeles Police Department's sluggish reaction to last week's fiery riots moved toward the higher reaches of the agency Thursday--including Chief Daryl F. Gates--as key LAPD officials and others said command-level breakdowns hampered besieged street officers. In his first interview since the unrest, Deputy Chief Matthew V.

Lingering anxiety over firefighters' safety has prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to curtail response to some non-emergency calls in riot-torn sections of the city in recent weeks, triggering criticism from residents and City Council members that the agency is not providing equitable service to minority neighborhoods.

Lenny Edelman joined this city's Fire Department eight years ago for the physical challenge of pulling people from burning buildings and the humanitarian challenge of saving lives. But along the way, Edelman has twice had to dodge bullets and was shot in the thigh while on duty in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots.

A fire that erupted inside a men's clothing store near the center of the Glendale Galleria on Saturday night was apparently caused by hot cigarette ashes inadvertently dumped into a waste basket full of paper, officials said. Officials said it was fortunate that the blaze in The Man's Store near the clock tower of the mall broke out at 7:30 p.m. It was 30 minutes after most stores had closed for the evening and shoppers had gone home.

Commercial and private pilots report thousands of incidents a year where birds hit their aircraft, but the vast majority of the potentially dangerous encounters do not result in substantial damage or serious crashes. Birds are being investigated as the possible cause of Thursday's US Airways incident. Authorities said the pilot of the Airbus A320 reported a "double bird strike" during takeoff, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River as both engines lost power.

The control tower at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 here got the word at 10 a.m.: Mayday. Seconds later, an F-15 fighter jet smashed to the ground on Sierra Highway, hitting two cars on the busy road and exploding. But this was only a test. To prepare emergency workers for a major accident such as a plane crash, Los Angeles County and Air Force officials staged the mock disaster under cloudy skies Monday--complete with burning bits of debris, smashed cars and pesky onlookers.

A Northwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at John Wayne Airport on Saturday after a bird flew into an engine. But the plane landed safely, to the relief of its 103 nervous passengers and crew. The Airbus A320 touched down at 9:11 a.m., about 30 minutes after takeoff, to the thunderous applause and loud cheers of not only those aboard but a phalanx of firefighters, airport security and other support personnel on the ground, witnesses said.

Blame for the Los Angeles Police Department's sluggish reaction to last week's fiery riots moved toward the higher reaches of the agency Thursday--including Chief Daryl F. Gates--as key LAPD officials and others said command-level breakdowns hampered besieged street officers. In his first interview since the unrest, Deputy Chief Matthew V.