Following a $18 million budget cut to the Los Angeles Fire Department, dozens of service emergency vehicles are not used at Lincoln Heights maintenance yards.
In December, NewsChopper4 discovered dozens of fire trucks and ambulances in the lot. It is unclear how long the fire trucks and ambulances will be sitting for repairs.
“Unfortunately, there’s a hundreds of thousands of dollars of fire equipment sitting in the bone yard, as there’s a lack of machines to fix them,” said City Councilman Traci Park. “As a taxpayer, as a resident, and as a council member of the community, which is currently the largest fire disaster site in our city’s history, it is extremely difficult to see our fire departments’ lack of investment and resources. I’m frustrated by this.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said last month that the budget cuts would not affect LAFD’s response to wildfires.
In a December memo, Los Angeles fire chief Christine Crowley said that budget cuts approved last year by Mayor Karen Bass impacted their ability to prepare and respond to major emergencies, according to the Parisades fire. I warned a few weeks ago.
“So the $17 million cut didn’t allow us to do what we did,” Crawley said. “And what particularly affected us for the Palisade was the ability to move into spare equipment.”
She added that the cuts affected the mechanics, primarily the fire engines and ambulances that needed repairs.
“Given the extreme circumstances of that fire, the lack of wind, the water and other challenges faced by firefighters, we’ll be sure to say at the end of the day whether any of those vehicles will make a difference. I know it’s difficult, but in general, life has more resources to help you achieve better results.”
On January 14, United Firefighters in Los Angeles wrote, “For many years, firefighters have spoken about staffing issues and lack of investment in the LAFD.”
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