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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLess than a month before fires swept across Los Angeles, a group of longtime firefighters gathered at City Hall to plead for more resources. They were at a \u201cbreaking point,\u201d one said. Another revealed that million-dollar fire trucks sat idle because budget cuts had shrunk the number of mechanics available to fix them.\u201cI\u2019m going to say what people can\u2019t say,\u201d said Freddy Escobar, president of the city\u2019s fire union and a veteran firefighter. \u201cIf we cut one position, if we close one station \u2026 the residents of Los Angeles are going to pay the ultimate sacrifice, and someone will die.\u201dThe firefighters\u2019 concerns over resources, it seems, weren\u2019t off the mark. A CNN analysis of the most recent data available from the 10 largest U.S. cities and other comparable departments shows the Los Angeles Fire Department is less staffed than almost any other major city, leaving it struggling to meet both daily emergencies and larger disasters such as wildfires.Despite being located in one of the most fire-prone areas in the country, the LAFD has less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents. That compares to cities such as Chicago, Dallas and Houston, where staffing is closer to two firefighters for the same number of residents. Of the largest cities, only San Diego has fewer firefighters per capita.Up the coast from L.A., the city of San Francisco boasts more than 1,800 firefighters for around 1.5 million residents of the city and nearby communities, while L.A. has roughly 3,500 firefighters allotted to serve a city of nearly 4 million.Experts have said no fire department in the world would have been able to take on such a perfect storm of conditions that resulted in L.A.\u2019s devastating blazes \u2013 which have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and caused at least 24 deaths.L.A.\u2019s firefighters were joined by crews from across the state, including from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which covers areas outside the city, including hard-hit Altadena. But images of residents in some neighborhoods trying to save homes with garden hoses and no firefighters in sight have sparked a new debate over whether city officials should have planned better and invested more in the LAFD, and what should be done to become better positioned for the next emergency.One of the speakers joining firefighters at the Fire Commission meeting last month was City Councilmember Traci Park. She warned resources were being strained \u201cbeyond the brink\u201d despite a dangerously increasing risk of wildfire.\u201cTime and time again, elected leaders in Los Angeles have failed to make meaningful investments in our public safety and as a result, Angelenos are suffering the consequences,\u201d Park said.Just 21 days later, the Pacific Palisades community within Park\u2019s council district ended up as the epicenter of one of the fires.L.A.\u2019s firefighters say the lack of resources is an everyday concern that extends beyond their ability to battle wildfires. They are also tasked with responding to structural fires, traffic accidents and medical emergencies, which have spiked amid a worsening homelessness crisis.In a memo from the end of last year, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley also expressed concerns that the fire department\u2019s staffing levels were half the size that a professional fire department should be, based on benchmarks recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.In the memo, which the city has since removed from its website, Crowley wrote that the city\u2019s population had grown from about 2.5 million in 1960 to nearly 4 million in 2020. Yet the city has fewer fire stations today than it did back then, even as firefighters respond to a call volume that has quadrupled.Crowley wrote that based on an analysis, the agency would need 62 new fire stations and hundreds more firefighters to meet the nationwide average for fire departments in densely populated cities.L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has faced criticism for recent budget cuts at the department, though she defended them at a press conference last week as a product of \u201ctough budgetary times\u201d and said the \u201cimpact of our budget really did not affect what we\u2019ve been going through.\u201d She also said additional funding was allocated later that ultimately represented an increase in the agency\u2019s budget. Bass and the fire department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CNN\u2019s findings.The fire union says that the neglect of the agency is a problem that long predates Bass.\u201cThis isn\u2019t about one budget cycle. It\u2019s not about a single mayor. This has been the case for decades. We have been speaking about it for years now,\u201d Escobar, the union president, said in an interview with CNN. \u201cIt\u2019s sad it\u2019s taken this natural disaster and tragedy to highlight what we have been saying for decades.\u201dIn 2011, Los Angeles placed near dead last in a ranking of fire department staffing for the country\u2019s 40 largest cities. The study, conducted by a New York City labor union, reviewed metrics including the number of firefighters, stations and engines.Last year, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the city\u2019s fire department, issued a report, which included examples underscoring how much the department was struggling. Stations that were intended to house around six firefighters, for example, are now sleeping up to double that, according to the report. A single mini fridge was used to hold food for an entire station across all of their shifts, the report stated, and one washing machine has been used for more than 16 firefighters who need to clean their uniforms almost every day.\u201cCity budget constraints and limited resources result in firefighters frequently shouldering the costs for urgent repairs or replacements of basic items, like washing machines, coffee machines and ice machines,\u201d the report said, noting that nearly half of all stations have less than $1,000 of cash on hand in station accounts, which could quickly be drained by any number of necessary repairs.Park, the councilwoman who sounded the alarm about a lack of resources last month, told CNN that she hopes \u201cthis is a wake-up call\u201d and an opportunity to rethink how the city is prioritizing its competing needs. She has spent the past week surveying the destruction and speaking with firefighters who told her they had never seen anything like the situation that unfolded.\u201cWhether (more resources) would have made a difference for this particular fire or not, I don\u2019t know. But on an average day here in Los Angeles, we don\u2019t have what we need,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cThey have miraculously done more with less \u2026 but it\u2019s not fair to them. \u2026 We owe it to them and to their families to make sure they\u2019re safe and they have what they need.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Less than a month before fires swept across Los Angeles, a group of longtime firefighters gathered at City Hall to plead for more resources. They were at a \u201cbreaking point,\u201d one said. Another revealed that million-dollar fire trucks sat idle because budget cuts had shrunk the number of mechanics available to fix them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to say what people can\u2019t say,\u201d said Freddy Escobar, president of the city\u2019s fire union and a veteran firefighter. \u201cIf we cut one position, if we close one station \u2026 the residents of Los Angeles are going to pay the ultimate sacrifice, and someone will die.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The firefighters\u2019 concerns over resources, it seems, weren\u2019t off the mark. A CNN analysis of the most recent data available from the 10 largest U.S. cities and other comparable departments shows the Los Angeles Fire Department is less staffed than almost any other major city, leaving it struggling to meet both daily emergencies and larger disasters such as wildfires.<\/p>\n
Despite being located in one of the most fire-prone areas in the country, the LAFD has less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents. That compares to cities such as Chicago, Dallas and Houston, where staffing is closer to two firefighters for the same number of residents. Of the largest cities, only San Diego has fewer firefighters per capita.<\/p>\n
Up the coast from L.A., the city of San Francisco boasts more than 1,800 firefighters for around 1.5 million residents of the city and nearby communities, while L.A. has roughly 3,500 firefighters allotted to serve a city of nearly 4 million.<\/p>\n
Experts have said no fire department in the world would have been able to take on such a perfect storm of conditions that resulted in L.A.\u2019s devastating blazes \u2013 which have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and caused at least 24 deaths.<\/p>\n
L.A.\u2019s firefighters were joined by crews from across the state, including from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which covers areas outside the city, including hard-hit Altadena. But images of residents in some neighborhoods trying to save homes with garden hoses and no firefighters in sight have sparked a new debate over whether city officials should have planned better and invested more in the LAFD, and what should be done to become better positioned for the next emergency.<\/p>\n
One of the speakers joining firefighters at the Fire Commission meeting last month was City Councilmember Traci Park. She warned resources were being strained \u201cbeyond the brink\u201d despite a dangerously increasing risk of wildfire.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime and time again, elected leaders in Los Angeles have failed to make meaningful investments in our public safety and as a result, Angelenos are suffering the consequences,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n
Just 21 days later, the Pacific Palisades community within Park\u2019s council district ended up as the epicenter of one of the fires.<\/p>\n
L.A.\u2019s firefighters say the lack of resources is an everyday concern that extends beyond their ability to battle wildfires. They are also tasked with responding to structural fires, traffic accidents and medical emergencies, which have spiked amid a worsening homelessness crisis.<\/p>\n
In a memo from the end of last year, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley also expressed concerns that the fire department\u2019s staffing levels were half the size that a professional fire department should be, based on benchmarks recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.<\/p>\n
In the memo, which the city has since removed from its website, Crowley wrote that the city\u2019s population had grown from about 2.5 million in 1960 to nearly 4 million in 2020. Yet the city has fewer fire stations today than it did back then, even as firefighters respond to a call volume that has quadrupled.<\/p>\n
Crowley wrote that based on an analysis, the agency would need 62 new fire stations and hundreds more firefighters to meet the nationwide average for fire departments in densely populated cities.<\/p>\n
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has faced criticism for recent budget cuts at the department, though she defended them at a press conference last week as a product of \u201ctough budgetary times\u201d and said the \u201cimpact of our budget really did not affect what we\u2019ve been going through.\u201d She also said additional funding was allocated later that ultimately represented an increase in the agency\u2019s budget. Bass and the fire department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CNN\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n
The fire union says that the neglect of the agency is a problem that long predates Bass.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about one budget cycle. It\u2019s not about a single mayor. This has been the case for decades. We have been speaking about it for years now,\u201d Escobar, the union president, said in an interview with CNN. \u201cIt\u2019s sad it\u2019s taken this natural disaster and tragedy to highlight what we have been saying for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2011, Los Angeles placed near dead last in a ranking of fire department staffing for the country\u2019s 40 largest cities. The study, conducted by a New York City labor union, reviewed metrics including the number of firefighters, stations and engines.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the city\u2019s fire department, issued a report, which included examples underscoring how much the department was struggling. Stations that were intended to house around six firefighters, for example, are now sleeping up to double that, according to the report. A single mini fridge was used to hold food for an entire station across all of their shifts, the report stated, and one washing machine has been used for more than 16 firefighters who need to clean their uniforms almost every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cCity budget constraints and limited resources result in firefighters frequently shouldering the costs for urgent repairs or replacements of basic items, like washing machines, coffee machines and ice machines,\u201d the report said, noting that nearly half of all stations have less than $1,000 of cash on hand in station accounts, which could quickly be drained by any number of necessary repairs.<\/p>\n
Park, the councilwoman who sounded the alarm about a lack of resources last month, told CNN that she hopes \u201cthis is a wake-up call\u201d and an opportunity to rethink how the city is prioritizing its competing needs. She has spent the past week surveying the destruction and speaking with firefighters who told her they had never seen anything like the situation that unfolded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether (more resources) would have made a difference for this particular fire or not, I don\u2019t know. But on an average day here in Los Angeles, we don\u2019t have what we need,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cThey have miraculously done more with less \u2026 but it\u2019s not fair to them. \u2026 We owe it to them and to their families to make sure they\u2019re safe and they have what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n