LA County Fire Captain talks about her "once-in-a-lifetime" Grammy experience
After a grueling January, Los Angeles County Fire Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh began her February announcing one of music's biggest awards.
"Handing the Album of the Year to Beyoncé was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said.
Kelliher and nearly two dozen other firefighters received a standing ovation from music's biggest stars and other celebrities in the crowd during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
"Overwhelming is probably one of the first words that come to mind," said Kelliher, a 25-year veteran of the LA County Fire Department. "We don't do it for applause. So, for that to happen ... was really amazing and overwhelming."
Firefighters across Southern California spent most of January in an uphill battle against the Palisades and Eaton fires. Kelliher said that the men and women on the stage represented every division of the departments that played a role in dousing the flames, from air operations to the people on the fire line.
"I know I stood there for all my brothers and sisters in the fire service and first responders," she said. "I hope they all felt it because it was incredible."
Kelliher and LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone handed the Grammy Award for Album of the Year to Beyoncé for "Cowboy Carter." Kelliher, a Texas A&M alumna, said she was glad she announced the coveted award for her fellow Texan.
"When I opened that up and saw that it was her, you can see I got my words twisted for a second," Kelliher recalled. "I was truly happy for her."
Beyoncé has been nominated for Album of the Year five times, and Sunday was the first time she won the award. She is the first Black woman to take the award home since Lauryn Hill won it for "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1999.
"I'd like to thank and acknowledge all of the firefighters for keeping us safe," Beyoncé said during her acceptance speech. "I just feel very full and very honored. It's been many, many years."
In the month leading up to the ceremony, Beyoncé donated $2.5 million on behalf of her foundation, BeyGOOD, to help people in Pasadena and Altadena rebuild after the Eaton Fire.
The Eaton and Palisades fire burned a combined 37,469 acres and leveled entire communities in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods of LA County.
At its height, the fires placed an estimated 331,335 people on an evacuation advisory, with nearly 192,000 residents facing mandatory evacuation and roughly 140,000 subject to warnings. For perspective, 331,335 people can fill SoFi Stadium three times over.
The two blazes are among the most destructive in California history, destroying more than 16,000 structures.