Northridge, 20 years ago today - where were you? (Redondo Beach: refrigerator, to buy)

[Fontucky]

Northridge Earthquake: Shaken Los Angeles firefighters helped save the day in 1994

[seain dublin]

Lived in Van Nuys at the time in a townhome. Sleeping in bed(like most people), first thought was we under attack than quickly realized it was a quake.

I do remember people pulling together and helping one another.

Home ended up being "yellow tagged" and had to move out.

Remember it like it was yesterday.

[BlinkingBlythe]

I was on the East Coast just outside of Philadelphia and we were experiencing some of the worst ice storms
we had in a very long time.

[Snort]

Santa Barbara (before Rachel's time). Won't ever forget seeing that white pancaked apartment building in Northridge. I don't do downstairs anymore when I stay in hotels, unless I'm in no-earthquake territory.

[ccm123]

I was living in Southern California, in Pasadena. It was a rude wake up call, early in the morning. The electricity went out in our area and I immediately turned on my cell phone (Motorola Flip Phone) and was able to see in the darkness using the light from my phone. I grabbed a flashlight to survey the damage, it was minor in my home. I went outside and the street was eerily pitch black (all streetlights were out).

I stayed home from work that day and watched the aftermath on TV.

[red4ce]

I was 6 years old at the time. We lived all the way out in West Covina so we only felt a jolt, but it was severe enough that our family and all the neighbors gathered outside into the streets to reassure everyone. The first earthquake I can remember experiencing.

[CapnHawk]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Northridge Earthquake: Shaken Los Angeles firefighters helped save the day in 1994

Fontucky, thanks for posting this article. I was on-duty at Fire Station #8 that fateful morning. Chief Schneider was a great commander to work for.

Our first-in district had no dire emergencies to handle. Our four-man paramedic engine was the first fire company on-scene at the Balboa and Rinaldi incident.

That was one, long day.

[Simi Valley mom]

Hard to believe...one of those surreal moments that you vividly remember.

[Caladium]

I was living in Manhattan Beach. Not too much damage down our way although the sea wall in Redondo had some cracks that made the city engineers nervous.

The one major drama that scared me happened to a man down the street who had a large tv mounted on a shelf near his bed. It fell on him, and he was really badly injured and I think he couldn't get the tv off him. (Remember how big and heavy tvs used to be?) Since it was 4 am he was locked inside his house. He screamed and screamed for help, but neighbors couldn't get in. Firefighters eventually saved the day.

A few years later I moved to a city with volunteer firefighters. I was so impressed by the actions of the crew on that day I joined, and have been proud to be involved with the station since that time. So in that way,the earthquake actually did have a major impact on my life, even though we had little damage down at the beach.

[Caladium]

Very hard to believe it was 20 years ago, already. I remember I didn't have to go to work that day, due to the building being damaged. So I ended up walking to Trader Joes later that morning with a friend. I still remember all the silly things we talked about in addition to the earthquake, as if it had just happened a month or two ago, not 20 years ago. I remember all the phone calls I had with out of state family members who were worried, too. Funny how I remember all those conversations from that day, considering I often can't remember conversations I've had in the last year.