Hollywood Burbank Airport names officer, firefighter of the year
Hollywood Burbank Airport honored its top safety officials this week — one is a new addition to the airfield’s police department and the other is a 16-year veteran of its fire department.
Officer Frank Litterini and Fire Capt. Chad Peterson were named Officer of the Year and Firefighter of the Year, respectively, by airport officials during a meeting of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday.
Litterini has been with Hollywood Burbank’s police department for just a year after a 27-year stint with the South Pasadena Police Department, where, at the end of his time there, he was a detective specializing in arson and explosives.
Not wanting to sit around during retirement, Litterini said he looked around for a new agency to join and was impressed with what the airport’s police department had to offer.
“This department is comprised of people with a vast amount of knowledge in various different areas,” he said. “We have investigators, street cops and people with airport experience. Everyone brings something different to the table.”
Litterini said what he thought may have made him stand out from his colleagues was his willingness to work on any case that was thrown at him.
Whether it was a drug trafficking case or helping travelers find their missing luggage, Litterini said he was just as excited to be working at the airport as when he was a detective.
“In this chapter of my career, just being a member of that department — which is a big hidden secret of how great it is — is ultimately satisfying,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest police departments ever.”
In contrast, Peterson has been with Hollywood Burbank’s fire department for 16 years, steadily working his way up from a firefighter to a captain.
Unlike Litterini, Peterson said he had always wanted to work at an airport. He got his first taste of that when he was in the Marines for four years.
He said what he enjoyed about being an airport firefighter, especially when he was still in the Marines, was seeing and being up close to the military aircraft that would fly in.
Having been at Hollywood Burbank for nearly two decades, Peterson said it has been a lot of hard work — both by himself and his colleagues — to ensure the department is ready to handle any emergency situation that comes its way.
“Those city [firefighters] are out there waiting for that house fire or traffic accident, while we’re here not wishing for a big aircraft crash to happen,” Peterson said. “There’s a lot of training involved since we don’t get a lot of practice, so we’re ready when that day comes.”
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
