The head of Los Angeles' fire union warned the city about staffing shortages before the deadly fire that ravaged the county for more than a week, according to a new interview.
Los Angeles Unified Fire Chief Freddy Escobar broke down in tears during an interview with CNN, saying the dire warnings he gave officials had gone unheeded.
Just last month, Escobar told Los Angeles city officials at a commission meeting that the L.A. Fire Department's staffing shortages were “dire,” adding that “someone is going to die,” according to the report. . CNN coverage.
“You can't make me cry,” Escobar, a 35-year veteran of the LAFD, told Kyon Rah correspondent as he walked away from the camera and wiped away tears.
“The fire department here is severely understaffed,” Escobar said. “We’re either going to build a fire station that reflects 2025, or we’re going to build a fire station that reflects the 1960s.”
Escobar said the understaffing issue is a long-term problem for the LAFD, which has long warned that the problem persists.
According to CNN, Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley expressed her concerns last year, saying the department's fire department is half the size it should be based on standards set by the National Fire Protection Association.
Budget constraints are also adding to the logistical nightmare unfolding across the county. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut the department's budget by $17.6 million in the 2024-25 budget.
Millions of dollars worth of rescue equipment is currently sitting on a Los Angeles property, sitting unused because the department can't afford to hire a mechanic, the newspaper reported.
Approximately 88,000 residents remain under evacuation orders in the City of Angels, with another 84,000 potentially under mandatory evacuation orders in the coming days.
Santa Ana winds will pick up into Wednesday morning, potentially spreading the fire further throughout the besieged area.
Multiple wildfires across Los Angeles County have killed 25 people so far.
