Supervisor Hahn Says Woolsey Fire After Action Report Shows Need for More Firefighters

Los Angeles, CA— LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn says that a draft comprehensive review of the Woolsey Fire response released today shows that the Los Angeles County Fire Department needs more firefighters and firefighter/paramedics. 

“Woolsey proved that we can’t rely on mutual aid from other fire departments,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “We face bigger and more destructive fires like Woolsey all the time and the Department still fielded 1000 other 9-1-1 calls each day during the fire. It has been 20 years since we invested in our fire department and it is about time we get them the resources they need.”

The draft report details how mutual aid agreements with fire departments across the state failed to bring the needed resources and firefighters to Woolsey. Both the Camp Fire and Hill Fire began shortly before the Woolsey Fire, exhausting the fire services mutual aid system up and down the state.

Supervisor Hahn is currently working closely with the Los Angeles County Fire Department exploring options for increasing the department’s funding.

In addition to battling larger and more destructive fires over longer fire seasons, the LA County Fire Department’s paramedics are also dealing with more emergency medical calls than ever before.