Reliving the Northridge earthquake 30 years later

LOS ANGELES - "It was just victim, after victim, after victim." Mike Henry was one of the first LA City firefighters to respond to the Northridge Meadows apartment complex on January 17, 1994.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake woke up thousands of people in the early morning hours with strong shaking that would change the city forever.  

Vinnie Jenkins was also working that day with LA fire, and remembers "the most vivid moment" of rescuing a father of five, who had been operating a street sweeper at the Northridge Mall, when the parking structure collapsed on him.

RELATED: Remembering the 1994 Northridge Earthquake 30 years later

"We had to lift three parking structures worth of concrete to get to him," remembers Jenkins, as he shakes his head.

At least 57 people died and 11,846 people in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties were treated at hospitals. Property losses were pegged at $40 billion.

FOX 11's Christina Gonzalez spent the day at the John Ruedy Memorial Training Center, where LAFD officials showed some of the new tools developed since the Northridge earthquake, being used by the USAR teams that were barely in their infancy in 1994. 

Now, six Search and Rescue teams cover the city. We saw them using equipment to cut through large cement slabs, so precisely, a person trapped beneath is less likely to be injured than ever before. Cameras remotely operated by rescuers can get deep into the rubble. There’s no question the methodology has improved, say those who were there.

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Still, they warn that the most important lesson for them, and all of us, is to be prepared. Keep your gasoline tank filled, since no electricity would mean no gas pumps working, or ATMs working, so keep cash handy.  

Experts say it’s only a matter of time before the next damaging quake hits our area.

You can find tips for preparedness at LAFD.org and foxla.com.