Less than a month before fires swept across Los Angeles, a group of longtime firefighters gathered at City Hall to plead for more resources. They were at a 맥스카지노�breaking point,맥스카지노� one said. Another revealed that million-dollar fire trucks sat idle because budget cuts had shrunk the number of mechanics available to fix them.맥스카지노�I맥스카지노�m going to say what people can맥스카지노�t say,맥스카지노� said Freddy Escobar, president of the city맥스카지노�s fire union and a veteran firefighter. 맥스카지노�If we cut one position, if we close one station 맥스카지노� the residents of Los Angeles are going to pay the ultimate sacrifice, and someone will die.맥스카지노�The firefighters맥스카지노� concerns over resources, it seems, weren맥스카지노�t off the mark. A CNN analysis of the most recent data available from the 10 largest U.S. cities and other comparable departments shows the Los Angeles Fire Department is less staffed than almost any other major city, leaving it struggling to meet both daily emergencies and larger disasters such as wildfires.Despite being located in one of the most fire-prone areas in the country, the LAFD has less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents. That compares to cities such as Chicago, Dallas and Houston, where staffing is closer to two firefighters for the same number of residents. Of the largest cities, only San Diego has fewer firefighters per capita.Up the coast from L.A., the city of San Francisco boasts more than 1,800 firefighters for around 1.5 million residents of the city and nearby communities, while L.A. has roughly 3,500 firefighters allotted to serve a city of nearly 4 million.Experts have said no fire department in the world would have been able to take on such a perfect storm of conditions that resulted in L.A.맥스카지노�s devastating blazes 맥스카지노� which have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and caused at least 24 deaths.L.A.맥스카지노�s firefighters were joined by crews from across the state, including from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which covers areas outside the city, including hard-hit Altadena. But images of residents in some neighborhoods trying to save homes with garden hoses and no firefighters in sight have sparked a new debate over whether city officials should have planned better and invested more in the LAFD, and what should be done to become better positioned for the next emergency.One of the speakers joining firefighters at the Fire Commission meeting last month was City Councilmember Traci Park. She warned resources were being strained 맥스카지노�beyond the brink맥스카지노� despite a dangerously increasing risk of wildfire.맥스카지노�Time and time again, elected leaders in Los Angeles have failed to make meaningful investments in our public safety and as a result, Angelenos are suffering the consequences,맥스카지노� Park said.Just 21 days later, the Pacific Palisades community within Park맥스카지노�s council district ended up as the epicenter of one of the fires.L.A.맥스카지노�s firefighters say the lack of resources is an everyday concern that extends beyond their ability to battle wildfires. They are also tasked with responding to structural fires, traffic accidents and medical emergencies, which have spiked amid a worsening homelessness crisis.In a memo from the end of last year, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley also expressed concerns that the fire department맥스카지노�s staffing levels were half the size that a professional fire department should be, based on benchmarks recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.In the memo, which the city has since removed from its website, Crowley wrote that the city맥스카지노�s population had grown from about 2.5 million in 1960 to nearly 4 million in 2020. Yet the city has fewer fire stations today than it did back then, even as firefighters respond to a call volume that has quadrupled.Crowley wrote that based on an analysis, the agency would need 62 new fire stations and hundreds more firefighters to meet the nationwide average for fire departments in densely populated cities.L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has faced criticism for recent budget cuts at the department, though she defended them at a press conference last week as a product of 맥스카지노�tough budgetary times맥스카지노� and said the 맥스카지노�impact of our budget really did not affect what we맥스카지노�ve been going through.맥스카지노� She also said additional funding was allocated later that ultimately represented an increase in the agency맥스카지노�s budget. Bass and the fire department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CNN맥스카지노�s findings.The fire union says that the neglect of the agency is a problem that long predates Bass.맥스카지노�This isn맥스카지노�t about one budget cycle. It맥스카지노�s not about a single mayor. This has been the case for decades. We have been speaking about it for years now,맥스카지노� Escobar, the union president, said in an interview with CNN. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s sad it맥스카지노�s taken this natural disaster and tragedy to highlight what we have been saying for decades.맥스카지노�In 2011, Los Angeles placed near dead last in a ranking of fire department staffing for the country맥스카지노�s 40 largest cities. The study, conducted by a New York City labor union, reviewed metrics including the number of firefighters, stations and engines.Last year, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the city맥스카지노�s fire department, issued a report, which included examples underscoring how much the department was struggling. Stations that were intended to house around six firefighters, for example, are now sleeping up to double that, according to the report. A single mini fridge was used to hold food for an entire station across all of their shifts, the report stated, and one washing machine has been used for more than 16 firefighters who need to clean their uniforms almost every day.맥스카지노�City budget constraints and limited resources result in firefighters frequently shouldering the costs for urgent repairs or replacements of basic items, like washing machines, coffee machines and ice machines,맥스카지노� the report said, noting that nearly half of all stations have less than $1,000 of cash on hand in station accounts, which could quickly be drained by any number of necessary repairs.Park, the councilwoman who sounded the alarm about a lack of resources last month, told CNN that she hopes 맥스카지노�this is a wake-up call맥스카지노� and an opportunity to rethink how the city is prioritizing its competing needs. She has spent the past week surveying the destruction and speaking with firefighters who told her they had never seen anything like the situation that unfolded.맥스카지노�Whether (more resources) would have made a difference for this particular fire or not, I don맥스카지노�t know. But on an average day here in Los Angeles, we don맥스카지노�t have what we need,맥스카지노� she said in an interview. 맥스카지노�They have miraculously done more with less 맥스카지노� but it맥스카지노�s not fair to them. 맥스카지노� We owe it to them and to their families to make sure they맥스카지노�re safe and they have what they need.맥스카지노�