| Photo by Jay Heike on Unsplash
Part IV of the “How to Solve the PTSD Scandal” Series
“Neighborhood FRED” means turning trained residents into “First Responders for Emergencies and Disasters.” This acronym was coined by this journalist in 2011.
If the City of Los Angeles had implemented the idea in 2011, it would be safe to assume that foreign consulates general in Los Angeles and the Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles would have supported the project, too.
Nearly 14 years have elapsed since the FRED idea was proposed in 2011. The deadliest and costliest fires devastated the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Alta Dena, and surrounding neighborhoods this year, especially those in hills and mountains. As of this column’s deadline, damages are estimated at least $150 billion worth of more than 11,000 houses, office buildings, and other infrastructures that burned down. So far, there are 16 confirmed deaths, and more residents are still missing.
Many of the victims killed in the tragic fires were physically disabled. Imagine if trained FRED neighborhood volunteers were in place in 2025. Perhaps deaths and destruction could have been minimized or mitigated today.
In April 2011, a series of correspondence about the “Neighborhood FRED” idea was sent to James G. Featherstone, the general manager of the Emergency Management Department of the City of Los Angeles. Copies were provided to City Council President Eric Garcetti, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, CA, and the Los Angeles Filipino-American City Employees (LAFACE) Association.
Ryan Carpio of City Council President Garcetti’s office replied. It asked about the direct role that the City of Los Angeles could have in the project and how it could help.
“Coupled with the idea of Neighborhood FRED volunteer units, brush-fed fires in cities in California (and in the other 49 states) may no longer be deadly and catastrophically gut government and federal resources.”
We replied that all the FRED idea would need was Mr. Garcetti’s moral support, the equivalent of a moral imprimatur to and for the proposed “Filipino-American Volunteer ‘First Responders for Emergencies and Disasters’ (FRED).” Funding would come from private donors in the Fil-Am communities all over the U.S.A., American Friends of the Philippines, and Corporate America.
With the Los Angeles Dodgers’ support, we could push the FRED more aggressively PR-wise. We proposed launching the FRED Project during the Third Filipino-American Community Night at Dodgers Stadium. As a direct result, the Dodgers might have fans-based FRED teams.
As predicted, then-City Council President Eric Garcetti was elected mayor of Los Angeles for two straight terms (before he was termed out). But nothing more came of it. We were made to understand that James G. Featherstone retired, and Ryan Carpio moved to another place of work.
In 2015, when former Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy Fredrick Sykes became the mayor of the City of West Covina, he informed his fellow four other councilmembers of the FRED idea. Because he was told of it as a Media Breakfast Club of Los Angeles (MBCLA) member, Mayor Sykes, who MBCLA members made an Honorary Filipino American, could not muster enough support in the City Council. He did not choose to file a city resolution for the FRED project.
Why? Because Mayor Sykes believed in Lyndon B. Johnson’s practice of not introducing any resolution or bill until he was sure he had the votes to pass it. Perhaps the other city officials of West Covina did not like the FRED project, as the acronym is also the nickname of then-Mayor Sykes.
As confirmed by the County Board of Supervisors, Fred Sykes has been appointed commissioner for human relations. He plans to lobby his bosses to study and implement the FRED idea throughout the county.
Perhaps the saying “all is well that ends well” will still be true. Maybe this column’s suggestions of constructing fire-resistant, multi-level Type 1 homes, offices, and other concrete and treated steel structures will also come true. Homelessness, especially among military veterans with PTSD, may be mitigated or eliminated.
Coupled with the idea of Neighborhood FRED volunteer units, brush-fed fires in cities in California (and in the other 49 states) may no longer be deadly and catastrophically gut government and federal resources.
