Damaged engines didn't affect Palisades firefight. But they point to a larger problem

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2 days ago

After the Palisades fire ignited, top brass at the Los Angeles Fire Department were quick to say that they were hampered by broken fire engines and a lack of mechanics to fix them.
If the roughly 40 fire engines that were in the shop had been repaired, they said, the battle against what turned out to be one of the costliest and most destructive disasters in Los Angeles history might have unfolded differently.
Then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley cited the disabled engines as a reason fire officials didn't dispatch more personnel to fire-prone areas as the winds escalated, and why they sent home firefighters who showed up to help as the blaze raged out of control. The department, she said, should have had three times as many mechanics.
But many of the broken engines highlighted by LAFD officials had been out of service for many months or even years — and not necessarily for a lack of mechanics, according to a Times review of engine work orders as of Jan. 3, four days before the fire.
What's more, the LAFD had dozens of other engines that could have been staffed and deployed in advance of the fire.
Instead, the service records point to a broader problem: the city's longtime reliance on an aging fleet of engines.
Well over half of the LAFD's fire engines are due to be replaced. According to an LAFD report presented to the city Fire Commission last month, 127 out of 210 fire engines — 60% — and 29 out of 60 ladder trucks — 48% — are operating beyond their recommended lifespans.
"It just hasn't been a priority," said Frank Líma, general secretary treasurer of the International Assn. of Fire Fighters who is also an LAFD captain, adding that frontline rigs are "getting pounded like never before" as the number of 911 calls increases.
That means officials are relying heavily on reserve engines — older vehicles that can be used in emergencies or when regular engines are in the shop. The goal is to use no more than half of those vehicles, but for the last three years, LAFD has used, on average, 80% of the trucks, engines and ambulances in reserve, according to the Fire Commission report.
"That's indicative of a fleet that's just getting older," said Assistant Chief Peter Hsiao, who oversees LAFD's supply and maintenance division, in an interview with The Times.
'As our fleet gets older, the repairs become more difficult,' Hsiao told the Fire Commission. 'We're now doing things like rebuilding suspensions, rebuilding pump transmissions, rebuilding transmissions, engine overhauls.'
The problem stems from long-term funding challenges, Hsiao said in the interview, with the department receiving varying amounts of money each year that have to be divvied up among competing equipment needs.
"If you extrapolate that over a longer period of time, then you end up in a situation where we are," he said.
To make matters worse, Hsiao said, the price of new engines and trucks has doubled since the pandemic. Engines that cost $775,000 a few years ago are now pushing $1.5 million — and it takes three years or more to build them, he said.
Read more: L.A. fire officials could have put engines in the Palisades before the fire broke out. They didn't
The number of fire engine manufacturers has also declined.
Recently, the IAFF asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a consolidation in emergency vehicle manufacturers that it said has resulted in skyrocketing costs and "brutal" wait times. In a letter, the IAFF said that at least two dozen companies have been rolled up into just three main manufacturers.
"These problems have reduced the readiness of fire departments to respond to emergencies, with dire consequences for public safety," the letter said.
The IAFF is the parent organization of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the local union representing LAFD firefighters. IAFF has been running the local labor group since suspending its top officers last month over allegations of financial impropriety.
Hsiao said the LAFD's fleet is well-maintained, and engines don't often break down.
But the age and condition of the fleet could deteriorate further, even with an infusion of cash to buy new equipment, because the wait times are so long.
Mayor Karen Bass' office has previously said that she secured $51 million last year to purchase 10 fire engines, five trucks, 20 ambulances and other equipment. The 2025-26 budget passed by the City Council last month includes nearly $68 million for 10 fire engines, four trucks, 10 ambulances and a helicopter, among other equipment, the mayor's office said.
"The Mayor's Office is working with new leadership at LAFD to ensure that new vehicles are purchased in a timely manner and put into service," a spokesperson said in an email.
A majority of the Fire Department's budget goes toward pay and benefits for its more than 3,700 employees, most of them firefighters.
Despite the city's financial troubles, firefighters secured four years of pay raises last year through negotiations with Bass. And firefighters often make much more than their base pay, with about 30% of the LAFD's payroll costs going to overtime, according to the city's payroll database. Firefighters and fire captains each earned an average of $73,500 in overtime last year, on top of an average base salary of about $140,100, the data show.
Líma said that while new engines will be useful, "a one-year little infusion doesn't help a systemic problem that's developed over decades." Asked whether firefighters would defer raises, he said they "shouldn't fund the Fire Department off the backs of their salaries."
The National Fire Protection Assn. recommends that fire engines move to reserve status after 15 years and out of the fleet altogether after 25 years.
But many larger cities need to act sooner, 'because of the constant wear and tear city equipment takes,' said Marc Bashoor, a former fire chief who now trains firefighters across the country, in an email. 'In my opinion, 10 years is OLD for city apparatus.'
Bashoor also noted that incorporating a variety of brands into a fleet, as the LAFD does, can increase repair times.
Read more: Bass ousts L.A. fire chief, saying LAFD needs new leadership
'When a fire department doesn't have a standardized fleet, departments typically are unable to stock enough … parts to fit every brand,' he said in an email. 'They then have to find the part or use a 3rd party, which can significantly delay repairs.'
Of the roughly 40 engines in the shop before the Palisades fire, three were built in 1999. Hsiao said engines that old are typically used for training and don't respond to calls.
Those that are too old or damaged from collisions or fires to ever return to city streets sometimes remain in the yard so they can be stripped for parts or used for training. Some are kept as evidence in lawsuits.
According to the service records reviewed by The Times, a work order was opened in 2023 for a 2003 engine burned in a fire, with notes saying "strip for salvage." A 2006 engine damaged in an accident was waiting for parts, according to notes associated with a work order from last April. Two 2018 engines were damaged in collisions, including one with 'heavy damage' to the rear body that had to be towed in, according to notes for an order from last July. Other orders noted oil leaks or problems with head gaskets.
Almost 30 of the engines that were out of service before the fire — 70% on the list — were 15 or more years old, past what the city considers an appropriate lifespan. Only a dozen had work orders that were three months old or less. That included three newer engines — two built in 2019 and one in 2020 — whose service records showed they were waiting for "warranty" repairs.
After the fire, LAFD union officials echoed Crowley's fleet maintenance concerns. Freddy Escobar, who was then president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, blamed chronic underfunding.
"The LAFD does not have the funding mechanism to supply enough mechanics and enough money for the parts to repair these engines, the trucks, the ambulances," Escobar told KTLA-TV.
The issues date back more than a decade. A 2019 report showed that LAFD's equipment was even more outdated at the time, with 136 of 216 engines, or 63%, due for replacement, as well as 43 of 58 ladder trucks, or 74%. In a report from 2012, LAFD officials said they didn't have enough mechanics to keep up with the workload.
'Of paramount concern is the Department's aging and less reliable fleet, a growing backlog of deferred repairs, and increased maintenance expense,' the 2012 report said, adding that mechanics were primarily doing emergency repairs instead of preventative maintenance.
LAFD's equipment and operations have been under heightened scrutiny since the Palisades fire erupted Jan. 7, destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people, with many saying that officials were severely unprepared.
A total of 18 firefighters are typically on duty at the two fire stations in the Palisades — Stations 23 and 69 — to respond to emergencies. Only 14 of them are routinely available to fight brush fires, The Times previously reported. The other four are assigned to ambulances at the two stations, although they might help with evacuations or rescues during fires.
LAFD officials did not pre-deploy any engines to the Palisades ahead of the fire, despite warnings about extreme weather, a Times investigation found. In preparing for the winds, the department staffed only five of more than 40 engines available to supplement the regular firefighting force.
Those working engines could have been pre-positioned in the Palisades and elsewhere, as had been done in the past during similar weather.
Less than two months after the fire, Bass dismissed Crowley, citing the chief's pre-deployment decisions as one of the reasons.
Bass has rejected the idea that there was any connection between reductions at the department and the city's response to the wildfires.
Meanwhile, the number of mechanics on the job hasn't changed much in recent years, fluctuating between 64 and 74 since 2020, according to records released by the LAFD in January. As of this year, the agency had 71 mechanics.
According to its report to the Fire Commission, the LAFD doesn't have enough mechanics to maintain and repair its fleet, based on the average number of hours the department said it takes to maintain a single vehicle.
Last year, the report said, mechanics completed 31,331 of 32,317 work requests, or 97%. So far this year, they have completed 62%, according to the report.
"With a greater number of mechanics, we can reduce the delays. However, a limited facility size, parts availability, and warranty repairs compound the issue," LAFD said in an unsigned email.
Special correspondent Paul Pringle contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.