Retired firefighter Tony Zar remembers vividly remembers the moment when, after a seven-hour rescue mission, survivor Salvador Pena was finally freed from 20 tons of rubble at the Northridge Fashion Center.
The 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake had shattered the center’s parking structure, leaving Pena, a janitor, trapped in the power sweeper he was operating with both of his legs crushed by concrete.
“When we finally got Salvador Pena free and up to the top where he was airlifted to the hospital that was just an incredible sight,” said Zar, on Wednesday Jan. 17. “His family was there and seeing a smile on their faces when we finally came out of the hole, it was like ‘wow, we really did something good here’.”
Pena’s rescue was one of hundreds that LAFD firefighters performed in the aftermath of the massive earthquake, which struck the San Fernando Valley at 4:31 a.m. on Jan. 17, 1994 and took 57 lives — a number that grew to 72 after those who died of heart attacks were included.
Thirty years later, the firefighters recall the sights, smells and sounds like it was yesterday. They shared memories at a press conference at Fire Station 88 in Sherman Oaks on the 30th anniversary of the Northridge earthquake.
“One of the things that hit me the most was just how pitch black it was. Not only did we not have any power in the station, but there was no power in the streets, no lights,” said retired firefighter Mike Henry. “There was a cloud of dust (from the debris) that rose up probably tens of feet high and added another level of darkness.”
Firefighters faced huge challenges in responding to the quake — no phone service, no electricity, weak city infrastructure, limited rescue equipment and poor public knowledge on best safety practices during and after an earthquake.
Henry was sleeping in Fire Station 7 in Panorama City when the massive quake rattled his bed and woke him up. He jumped into action with no idea where the damage was…
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