The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is a full-service emergency response agency serving over 4 million people across 470 square miles of Los Angeles. Founded in 1886, LAFD operates 106 fire stations and handles more than 480,000 calls per year—most of them medical. With over 3,500 firefighters, the department specializes in fire suppression, EMS, urban search and rescue, hazardous materials, and disaster response. LAFD is known for its innovation, diverse capabilities, and commitment to protecting one of the most complex urban environments in the world.
The LAFD is a historically great department that wrote the book on vertical ventilation and west coast fire fighting. Unfortunately the lack of strong leadership from the Mayor, board of fire commissioners and high level chiefs has left this department in the hurt locker. Poor staffing, overworked employees and a severe lack of updated equipment, apparatus and their inability to expand in size has lead to a culture of doing more with less. What used to be a challenging academy and probationary year has been met with criticism as they continue to employ recruits with a heavy emphasis on diversity in lieu of quality. The LAFD runs a 3 platoon ‘Kelly’ schedule with forced shifts every other week to fulfill their staffing issues. A rise in homelessness, poor city planning and issues with pay has led to many retiring early, while others leave the department all together. Despite all of this, the LAFD continues to pride itself on a high standard of knowledge, fire experience and aggressive fire fighting tactics.
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1 Reviews on “Los Angeles Fire Department”
The LAFD is a historically great department that wrote the book on vertical ventilation and west coast fire fighting. Unfortunately the lack of strong leadership from the Mayor, board of fire commissioners and high level chiefs has left this department in the hurt locker. Poor staffing, overworked employees and a severe lack of updated equipment, apparatus and their inability to expand in size has lead to a culture of doing more with less. What used to be a challenging academy and probationary year has been met with criticism as they continue to employ recruits with a heavy emphasis on diversity in lieu of quality. The LAFD runs a 3 platoon ‘Kelly’ schedule with forced shifts every other week to fulfill their staffing issues. A rise in homelessness, poor city planning and issues with pay has led to many retiring early, while others leave the department all together. Despite all of this, the LAFD continues to pride itself on a high standard of knowledge, fire experience and aggressive fire fighting tactics.