LAFD: Assistant chief pleads no contest to hit and run, coverup

Thursday, February 5, 2009

LAFD: Assistant chief pleads no contest to hit and run, coverup

A Los Angeles Fire Department assistant chief and his family pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges stemming from a San Pedro hit-and-run and an ensuing cover-up.

Robert Franco, 53, and his wife, Gerri Franco, 49, each pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor conspiracy count and were sentenced to 36 months probation and 30 days of community service, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's office. Their son, Richard Franco, 20, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of hit-and-run. He also got 36 months probation and 30 days of community service for the state Department of Transportation, Mateljan said.

Richard Franco slammed his Toyota Tundra truck into two parked cars on 37th Street around 2 a.m. on Nov. 3. The truck flipped, and he immediately used his cellular telephone to call home, according to prosecutors. His parents arrived a few minutes later and Franco stayed while Mrs. Franco drove their son away. She soon returned and picked up her husband, and they left. However, they returned again minutes later and told responding emergency personnel that Mrs. Franco was behind the wheel.

The truth was learned from neighbors who witnessed the events, prosecutors said.

When charges were filed in May, a fire department spokesman said the department would not take any action against Franco until the criminal case was complete.
Source: Insidesocal.com - Link

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Thursday, February 5, 2009