Geoff Balchowsky - Firefighter

A young Geoff Balchowsky, fresh out of high school, was working as a lifeguard when someone disappeared under the water in front of his eyes.

Without a second thought, Balchowsky was sprinting into the water. He grabbed the individual and brought him back to shore, only to realize that the man had gone into full cardiac arrest.

With only his basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification, Balchowsky successfully saved the man’s life. His boss at the time asked, “What’s next?”

For a 19-year-old Balchowsky, what came next was his emergency medical training (EMT) certification, and the subsequent pursuit of a career centered on saving lives. Balchowsky was ready to become a firefighter.

Balchowsky worked as a volunteer firefighter before joining the United States Navy in 1993, where he served for four years as a Navy fireman. After finishing his time with the Navy, Balchowsky left the service to pursue a lifelong career in firefighting, officially joining the LAFD in 1997.

It’s common to hear stories of generational firefighters – a son or daughter inspired by a parent or grandparent who dedicated their life to the fire service. But Balchowsky entered the fire service as a first-generation firefighter. His father was a contractor, and Balchowsky learned how to build, operate tools, and solve technical problems at a young age.

From the skills he developed from his father to the Hazardous Materials (HazMat) and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) courses he took in the Navy, Firefighter Balchowsky entered the fire service with a strong work ethic and a desire to be the best he could be at his craft.

“I didn’t realize the importance of all the classes I was taking until I started using them,” Firefighter Balchowsky reflected. As a member of the LAFD-sponsored California Task Force 1 (CA-TF1) FEMA USAR team, those skills were put to the test early in his career on his first deployment – September 11, 2001.

Firefighter Balchowsky recalls being asleep at the station when his wife, a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer, called to see if he had seen the news as the second plane hit. Two days later while on the road to start their vacation, Firefighter Balchowsky’s captain called and said they needed him.

For the next 10 days, Firefighter Balchowsky and the CA-TF1 team were embedded at ground zero to support a devastated city. He vividly remembers recognizing the rubble that he was sifting through from his contracting experience – plumbing, framework, steel, roofing. With this knowledge, he could understand what portion of the building he might be looking through, which helped inform recovery efforts and search strategy.

He had no idea that all those years working on projects with his dad, or his HazMat and USAR training in the Navy, would support his ability to lend a hand during the worst disaster in US history.

Every class, every course, every lesson has purpose, as far as Firefighter Balchowsky sees it. “Being a firefighter is a skill like anything else,” Firefighter Balchowsky shared, emphasizing the importance of constantly learning and working to improve oneself. “If you haven’t learned something new before you go to bed every night, you haven’t been fully engaged,” he added.

Being “fully engaged” has defined Firefighter Balchowsky’s career. He has never stopped looking for opportunities to advance himself as a firefighter. In his nearly 30 years with the LAFD, Firefighter Balchowsky has been a USAR member, served as a flight paramedic, and been deployed for mutual aid through the Swift Water Rescue team. He’s even a member of the LAFD’s Bicycle Medic Team.

“I don’t like to sit still,” he chuckled, and his “resume” reflects that attitude.

But beyond staying busy, being the person who made a difference in someone’s life is what makes Balchowsky proud every day to be a firefighter.

To firefighter hopefuls, he says it’s not necessarily about the skills you show up with, but rather how you show up and engage those skills.

“There are talented, successful people,” Firefighter Balchowsky said. “But when you meet someone who’s not as talented but extremely successful, you’ll find yourself a very tenacious individual.”