Shaved Heads Show Solidarity for Stricken Firefighter

Los Angeles City Fire Department Capt. Bruce Galien was talking to his wife on the phone from Fire Station No. 9 near skid row recently when she heard what she thought was a man in pain. It turned out to be firefighter Brian Hampton, singing along to a heavy metal song blasting from the radio.

“She asked: ‘Is that guy all right?’ Galien recalled Wednesday with a laugh.

But behind his laughter now is a deep concern for Hampton, 33, who has been found to have testicular cancer. He has lost his hair to chemotherapy, and firefighters from all over the department decided Wednesday to show how much they care about him.

In a show of solidarity, nearly 70 firefighters--some from stations as far as Pacoima--shaved their heads.

“I have never been as proud of those guys as right now,” Hampton said from a room at Upland’s San Antonio Valley Hospital, after watching a television broadcast of his fire station becoming a barbershop. “They are my heroes . . . those guys right there. They make the stuff that I am going through that much easier.”

At Station No. 9, Capt. Rick Halloran called Hampton a giant teddy bear. “He was . . . he is the strongest guy at the station,” Halloran said. “This is a disease that picked on our biggest guy.”

In the front of the firehouse dining room, where newly bald men ate mountains of pancakes, eggs and potatoes, a sign read: “Hair Free Zone. No Haircut, No Food.”

And the station’s roof carried a spray-painted message: “Get Well Soon Brian.”

Hampton’s firefighting colleagues are planning a June 16 tournament at Pasadena’s Brookside Golf Course to benefit their friend. For information, call (213) 485-6209.