Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

17 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

19 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

20 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

20 hours ago

Pew: US Immigrant Population Declines for First Time in Nearly 60 Years

22 hours ago

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

1 day ago

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

1 day ago

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

1 day ago

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

2 days ago
Rams Honor Firefighters, Police for Recent Heroic Actions
By admin
Published 7 years ago on
November 20, 2018

Share

LOS ANGELES — After having the toughest two weeks of his firefighting career, Ken Roberts spent his first night off at one of the NFL’s most anticipated games of the season.

“The past couple weeks as a firefighter is the toughest I have experienced. To have one monumental event and have the active shooter was enough for one whole career. Then you add on a fire that impacts the exact same area, we just didn’t have a chance to breathe.” — Ken Roberts, Ventura County Fire Department Captain

The Ventura County Fire Department Captain was one of many honored by the Los Angeles Rams during Monday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was was won by the Rams, 54-51.

Roberts was one of many first responders who received tickets to the game as the Rams honored those impacted the past two weeks by the shooting at a Thousand Oaks bar and Southern California wildfires.

“The past couple weeks as a firefighter is the toughest I have experienced,” Roberts said.

“To have one monumental event and have the active shooter was enough for one whole career. Then you add on a fire that impacts the exact same area, we just didn’t have a chance to breathe.”

The Rams train in Thousand Oaks, where 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at a country music bar on Nov. 7. The next day a pair of wildfires broke out in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, forcing thousands of people to flee.

Several of the 25 Players Were Evacuated From Their Homes

Roberts got off work Monday morning. He then picked up his wife and son before heading to the LA Memorial Coliseum to enjoy the game with friends and colleagues. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City before the NFL moved it back to Los Angeles due to poor field conditions.

“To come together, take a deep breath and watch some good football is monumental,” Roberts said.

The Thousand Oaks Titans youth football team, who trained at the Rams facility last Friday before its Pacific Youth Football League final, were also at the game after being treated to a pregame VIP tailgate party.

“It was very hard. We had kids coming in from as far as San Bernardino and Long Beach where they had been relocated. They came every night, just sometimes we didn’t have fields to practice on,” coach Steve Szakos said.

Several of the 25 players — including quarterback Jacob Poley — were evacuated from their homes. Poley and his family have returned home, which is still standing.

“This has taught me to be more thankful and that nothing is for granted. You have to appreciate everything,” the 14-year old Poley said.

Overwhelmed With the Outpouring of Support

The California Lutheran University Choir sang the National Anthem and were joined by first responders, who held the flag. Cal Lutheran alumnus Justin Meek, who was one of the 12 victims in the shooting, was a member of the choir for four years.

“Seeing everyone come out it makes you get through it a lot easier.” — Ventura County Sheriff sergeant Jason Robarts

“They are honored to be singing and share in everything. For these students to go back out and be with other people is good,” choir director Wyant Morton said.

Karen and Jordan Helus, the wife and son of fallen Ventura County Sheriff Sergeant Ron Helus, lit the LA Coliseum torch prior to kickoff.

Ventura County Sheriff sergeants Jason Robarts and Dave Brantley both knew Helus for over 25 years and said that he would be overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for his family.

“Seeing everyone come out it makes you get through it a lot easier,” Robarts said. “The guy was one of the most tactically sound. If there was someone I wanted to go in and deal with a situation it was this guy. What is hard is we had the right person doing the job.”

One Way for the Organization to Show Its Appreciation to Everyone

Dylan and Derek Adler, the 17- and 12-year old sons of Sean Adler, served as honorary water boys for the game. Sean Adler was a member of the security team at the bar.

“It’s a way to get my mind off everything. It’s almost overwhelming what people are willing to do for us,” Dylan Adler said.

Kevin Demoff, the Rams Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Football Operations, said after the Rams 54-51 victory that the game was one way for the organization to show its appreciation to everyone.

“Right after the Borderline shooting you are trying to figure out how to lead your community and 12 hours later you are wondering if you are even going to have a community,” he said. “Our organization saw it not as a challenge but really an opportunity to put the best of Los Angeles and its people on display and I think you saw that tonight.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego Released, May Be Detained Again

DON'T MISS

Judge Blocks Trump From Withholding Funds From Los Angeles, Other Sanctuary Cities

DON'T MISS

Lyle Menendez Denied Parole After 35 Years in Prison for Parents’ Shotgun Murders

DON'T MISS

California Cities Lack Unified Response On Homeless Encampments

DON'T MISS

Trump Crime Crackdown Deploys Troops in Washington’s Safest Sites

DON'T MISS

California Voters Still Support High-Speed Rail, Even If It Never Gets Done

DON'T MISS

Turkish First Lady Urges Melania Trump to Speak out on Gaza

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

DON'T MISS

Atwater Prison Inmate Charged for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor’s Family

UP NEXT

Everything Tennis Fans Need to Know About the 2025 U.S. Open

UP NEXT

ESPN Won’t Air Spike Lee’s Docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, Citing ‘Creative Differences’

UP NEXT

What Can MLB Learn From the Savannah Bananas? A Lot, It Turns Out.

UP NEXT

Barry Bonds Beats the Babe! Statistical Model Crowns a New ‘Greatest’ in Baseball

UP NEXT

EJ Warner Named Fresno State Starting QB, Gets Shout-Out From His Dad

UP NEXT

Fresno State’s Al’zillion Hamilton Ready to Lead Defense in 2025

UP NEXT

Clovis Girls Soccer Team Wins National Title After Years of Grit, Heart, and Sacrifice

UP NEXT

Valley Children’s Sees Big Spike in Summer Football Injuries. Has State ‘Overcorrected’ Its Rules?

UP NEXT

US Government Restricts Sports Visas for Transgender Women

UP NEXT

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

California Cities Lack Unified Response On Homeless Encampments

20 minutes ago

Trump Crime Crackdown Deploys Troops in Washington’s Safest Sites

20 minutes ago

California Voters Still Support High-Speed Rail, Even If It Never Gets Done

20 minutes ago

Turkish First Lady Urges Melania Trump to Speak out on Gaza

23 minutes ago

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

17 hours ago

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

17 hours ago

Atwater Prison Inmate Charged for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor’s Family

18 hours ago

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

18 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

18 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

19 hours ago

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego Released, May Be Detained Again

Kilmar Abrego, the migrant whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador made him a symbol of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive imm...

3 minutes ago

Kilmar Abrego Garcia walks, after he has been released from the Putnam County Jail in Cookville, Tennessee, U.S., August 22, 2025. (Reuters/Seth Herald)
3 minutes ago

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego Released, May Be Detained Again

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
15 minutes ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Withholding Funds From Los Angeles, Other Sanctuary Cities

Lyle Menendez attends his Board of Parole hearing online from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, U.S., August 22, 2025, that could lead to freedom after decades in prison for the 1989 shotgun murders of his parents. The final decision will rest with the governor, who can either accept or reject the board's recommendation. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/Handout via REUTERS
17 minutes ago

Lyle Menendez Denied Parole After 35 Years in Prison for Parents’ Shotgun Murders

20 minutes ago

California Cities Lack Unified Response On Homeless Encampments

Members of the Mississippi National Guard eat ice cream and boba tea on the National Mall after U.S. President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 21, 2025. (Reuters/Al Drago)
20 minutes ago

Trump Crime Crackdown Deploys Troops in Washington’s Safest Sites

20 minutes ago

California Voters Still Support High-Speed Rail, Even If It Never Gets Done

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan arrive at a dinner for NATO heads of states and government hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima, on the sidelines of a NATO Summit, at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
23 minutes ago

Turkish First Lady Urges Melania Trump to Speak out on Gaza

17 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend