Allen Janzen - Firefighter/Paramedic

Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Firefighter Allen Janzen’s path to the fire service exemplifies resiliency in the face of setbacks. His journey took nine years, but he never wavered from the dream he’d had since elementary school.

At ten years old, Janzen visited Fire Station 88 in Sherman Oaks during Fire Service Day, an annual fire station open house that invites community members to experience LAFD demonstrations and family-friendly activities. Janzen was invited by his brother-in-law who was in the LAFD’s hiring process. He watched firefighters tear open cars with the jaws of life and remembers the first time he ever sprayed water from a fire hose. That day, still vivid in his mind, set the course for every step that followed.

At 14, the youngest age allowed, he joined the Explorer program - now known as the Cadet program - meant for youth seriously considering a fire service career. For seven years, he immersed himself in the program, riding along on calls, learning apparatus and engine operations, and absorbing the craft and culture of firefighting.

After high school, Janzen went to Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) school and began working for a private ambulance company. Sponsored by the Explorer program, he also completed paramedic school. On top of it all, he joined Crew 3, the LAFD’s first wildland hand crew, and responded to several fires during the 2008 season.

The moment he became eligible at age 18, Janzen applied to the LAFD, but a hiring freeze halted the process for five years.

Still, Janzen pushed forward. He taught part-time at UCLA’s Center for Prehospital Care while working private ambulance shifts and testing at every fire department that was accepting applications. When the freeze lifted, he reapplied, only for the process to pause again. Relentlessly committed to his dream, Janzen applied a third time.

While enduring this grueling process, he met the woman who would become his wife, and with the high potential for a family in the near future, he considered whether the fire service was truly his path. He explored alternatives from real estate to flight medic work, considering anything that could offer more stability.  

But he never stopped preparing. As a paramedic, Janzen became a field training officer and later a field supervisor, mentoring new incoming paramedics. He joined his ambulance company’s rapid emergency deployment team and gained specialized medical training, all while waiting for the call he still believed would come.

Nearly a decade after he first applied, Janzen was hired by the LAFD at 27. While assigned to his second house as a new firefighter, he and his wife welcomed twin boys, and life finally began to fall into place.

“It took me a long time, but I’m grateful for it in the end,” he said of his journey. “It built up my character and my perseverance."

Barely midway through his first year, Janzen faced a jarring reminder of the risks firefighters take every day when LAFD Firefighter Kelly Wong died during a training accident. “It gave me the perspective that life is frail,” he said when reflecting on how that experience impacted his career.

Inspired to support others, especially families of firefighters impacted by tragedy, Janzen later launched Firefighter Crafted, an online store selling firefighter-made products and apparel. Proceeds directly support injured, disabled, and fallen firefighter families in their time of need.

He has dedicated much of his life to giving back and paying it forward, especially through teaching. “The more I teach something, the better I’m going to understand and retain it,” he shared.

At Fire Station 102, where he now works as a Firefighter/Paramedic (FFPM), Janzen trains paramedic interns who are doing the same private ambulance work he once did. His detail-oriented approach and ability to think deeply make him an impactful leader for those he mentors.

Janzen’s journey has brought him full circle. Because most LAFD calls are medical emergencies, his 15 years of paramedic experience serve him daily. And while his fire skills took time to develop, he now truly loves every aspect of the job.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to help people in desperate situations,” FFPM Janzen emphasized. “It’s a career that I’m truly passionate about.”

It’s also not for the faint of heart, he added. As a firefighter, you can go from the worst call you’ve ever had to a minor, non-life-threatening medical call within minutes. No matter what, he said, “you still have to show up the same way, every time.”

Currently, FFPM Janzen is in the process of completing instructor training, which will open opportunities for him to teach across the Department, from the drill tower with LAFD recruits to more specialized certifications.  

“If you’re really interested in the fire service – if you become even more passionate the more you learn about it, never give up,” he says to firefighter hopefuls. “But do things to better yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. So when the time comes, and you do get that call, it will be well worth it – and you’ll be ready.”