Letter: We need to train up volunteer firefighters across California

News reports keep talking over and over about the “insufficient resources” and live shots on TV  showing neighborhoods and people trying to fight the fire with garden hoses on their own saying “where are the firetrucks?”

It seems there is a possible solution no one is talking about. the Los Angeles Fire Department actually has a section for “volunteer“ including “CERT“ community emergency response teams that includes training in subjects like fire suppression. During the latest press conference, the fire chief just admitted that we don’t have enough firemen to handle this. So why can’t we train thousands of volunteers? We actually had a little bit of this on your TV during the Franklin fires in Malibu. Some reporters interviewed some people who said they were parts of “fire brigades“ of volunteers that saved their neighborhoods.

We don’t need 10,000 full-time fireman, but in emergencies like this we could use volunteers that are willing to save their neighborhoods. My brother was a volunteer fireman in Florida for 30 years. He said 70% of the country has volunteer firemen. It’s the big cities that have the big union contracts with professional firefighters that don’t allow volunteers. Maybe we need to rethink that. None of the politicians come up with any solutions. They act like there’s nothing we can do.

The politicians will not support volunteers since they all get huge donations from the unions.

Stephen Waddell, Palos Verdes Estates

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