XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.guns

'75 Los Angeles fire trucks wait for repairs as wildfires rage — while
city spends $1.3B on the homeless'

<https://nypost.com/2025/01/16/us-news/75-los-angeles-fire-trucks-in-need-of-repair-sat-idle-as-wildfires-raged/>

'At least 75 fire trucks languished in a city repair facility in
downtown Los Angeles as wildfires decimated Altadena, Pacific Palisades
and Malibu, pictures taken by The Post show.

The essential firefighting vehicles were still sitting in the Los
Angeles Fire Department’s Bureau Of Supply and Maintenance lot in an industrial area Wednesday, waiting to be repaired.

Controversy over the rows of idle trucks has intensified after
revelations about the LAFD budget being cut by $17 million by Mayor
Karen Bass.

Fire fighting trucks parked and awaiting repair
9
Over 75 firefighting trucks and engines are lined up, unused and
awaiting repair or maintenance at a Los Angeles facility while wildfires continue to rage across the city.
Toby Canham for NY Post
More Fire fighting trucks parked in the lot, unused
9
The Los Angeles Fire Department had its budget cut by $17 million and
leaders warned they didn’t have enough budget to properly fix their
vehicles.
Toby Canham for NY Post
“We have over 100 fire apparatus out of service,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley admitted to CNN when the wildfires, which have led to
over 100,000 people having to evacuate their homes, were still at their
peak.


The repair facility office manager declined to speak when asked about
the trucks by The Post.

Back in May, LAFD Capt. Freddy Escobar — president of the United
Firefighters of Los Angeles union — warned the department was seriously underfunded.

A house burning in the fire wildfires
9
Wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds have devastated the cities of Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
AFP via Getty Images
The smouldering wreck of houses, with the sun setting over the sea
visible in the background.
9
Houses across the Malibu area of Los Angeles, reduced to rubble by the Palisades Fire.
AFP via Getty Images
Fire Captain Freddy Escobar pictured in front of a fire truck
9
Los Angeles Fire Captain Freddy Escobar has served 35 years as a
firefighter and is the president of the United Firefighters of Los
Angeles City union.
Provided by The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City
“We don’t have enough firefighters and medics, we don’t have enough fire engines, we don’t have enough trucks and ambulances in the field,”
Escobar testified during a budget hearing. “And we don’t have the
equipment and staffing we need to respond to half a million emergency
calls for service every year.”

At a commission meeting just last month, Escobar told LA city officials
short staffing in the fire department was “dire” warning “someone will die.”

LAFD has approximately 3,500 firefighters who are responsible for the
city’s almost four million residents, which works out at less than one firefighter per 1,000 residents. Other major cities have closer to two firefighters per 1,000 residents, and an analysis by CNN found Los
Angeles to have less staff than any of the other 10 largest cities in
the US.

“We are on the frontlines of this homeless crisis,” Escobar said.

“Fifty percent of the fires we respond to come from our homeless
population. And the city reportedly spends $1.3 billion each year on
homeless programs, but the LAFD is scheduled to receive a cut? This
makes absolutely no sense.”

Fire fighting trucks awaiting repair at the Los Angeles facility
9
Fire fighting trucks, engines and apparatus awaiting repair at the Los
Angeles Fire Department’s Bureau Of Supply and Maintenance. The
department underwent $17 million in cuts to its budget in the last year, leaving it understaffed.
Toby Canham for NY Post
Fire fighting trucks under maintenance
9
Fire fighting trucks under maintenance at the Los Angeles Fire
Department depot near the city’s downtown area. When addressing the
response to the blazes, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has said: “Having
these apparatus, and the proper amount of mechanics would have helped.”
Toby Canham for NY Post
A fire fighting engine in for repairs at the Los Angeles depot.
9
A fire fighting engine in for repairs at the Los Angeles depot. It is
among at least 75 emergency vehicles which were out of action and
awaiting repairs when The Post visited
Toby Canham for NY Post
One homeless man with a blowtorch was tackled by citizens this week as
he attempted to fight fires, while others have reported arsonists across
the city.

City Council member Traci Park, a Democrat, also raised the alarm at the
May commission meeting, saying the fire department’s resources were
being strained to the breaking point, just as wildfires season was
looming.

At that time, officials said 86 of the city’s emergency vehicles were
out of commission in Los Angeles because there was no money to hire
sheet metal workers and mechanics to fix them.

Among the sidelined vehicles were 40 fire engines, which carry water and
are used to fight fires, 36 ambulances, and 10 fire trucks, which carry equipment, like ladders and rescue supplies.

“It just makes no sense to have million dollar fire trucks and engines
taken out of service and sidelined because we don’t have enough
mechanics to keep them running,” Captain Chuong Ho testified during the budget hearing.

Councilwoman Traci Park
9
Councilwoman Traci Park is one of the people who had been raising the
alarm about the chance of wildfires devastating Los Angeles and the need
for more funding for the Fire Department to address it.
LA DISTRICT 11
Over 7,500 firefighters and emergency personnel have been drafted from
across California to fight the wildfires in the city, which started on
Jan. 7. They have been joined by teams from neighboring states and as
far afield as Utah and Colorado.



At least 25 people have been killed in the Los Angeles fires as of
Wednesday and officials have warned the number is expected to rise.

It’s been eight days since the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, first sparked on Jan. 7, burning more than 23,000 acres. The Eaton Fire has
burned more than 14,000 acres.

More than 12,000 structures have been burned to the ground as
firefighters are attempting to put out the devastating wildfires
plaguing Los Angeles

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