LOS ANGELES — Jason Northgrave was there in early January with the rest of the El Segundo, California, Fire Department battling the Palisades blaze, one of a series of wildfires that’s devastated Southern California.
Northgrave was one of several area first responders joining former NHL players and celebrities to play hockey at Skate for LA Strong, an event that the Los Angeles Kings, in partnership with the NHL, put together to support the fire recovery efforts in the area.
“Immediately there was an outpouring of love and support for us and what we were doing, which we felt,” the fireman said at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. “So, to do something like this, it’s just phenomenal. It’s just a blessing. We’re super thankful for it. Plus, it’s a fun game to play. There are so many great things about this.”
Roger Sackaroff was a sports reporter in New York when he said the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, “changed the perspective of what I was doing, and I felt I had a bigger impact to make.” He’s been with the Los Angeles City Fire Department for the past 17 years.
“It’s super overwhelming,” Sackaroff said. “I mean, we don’t do this for the thanks. We do it for the service. We’re not used to getting the thank you. We usually do the job, and we leave. So, it’s just really overwhelming and we’re so grateful and it’s really special.”
Four teams played in two semifinals that featured two 10-minute halves and a running clock. Team Blue, coached by actor Danny DeVito and play-by-play sports broadcaster Al Michaels advanced to the 10-minute final where it played Team Red, coached by actors Vince Vaughn and Cobie Smulders.
Team Red won 4-0.
“It’s terrible to have an event like that to take moments like this, but for the Kings to organize (this) and not just for the city of Los Angeles to come together, the state of California, but for the whole country today. For people all over to be pouring in support, it says a lot about who we are as people when these things happen,” Vaughn said after the event.
“So, it was special to be part of this and to see all the love and support come from everywhere.”
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