Failed Firefighters of LA Hope Private Sector Ones Fail

No act of retribution is too petty for the small–minded, vindictive left-adherents running the once Golden State.

One of the few bright spots of the Los Angeles wildfires was the performance of crews hired by former mayoral candidate and developer Rick Caruso.

Politico.com reports, "Caruso — who owns a shopping center in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood — was the most high-profile figure known to have hired private firefighters during the Los Angeles-area wildfires."

Rather than waiting for the under-manned, under-equipped and incompetently led Los Angeles firefighters to get around to fighting the wildfires threatening his shopping centers, Caruso used his own money to hire private sector firefighters and thereby saved the buildings, the investments tenants had in their stores and any adjacent houses the private sector groups could reach.

Naturally, being shown up like that makes left-wingers' blood boil hotter than a California wildfire.

That’s why "Los Angeles Democrats are teaming up with a statewide firefighters' union on a bill aimed at private firefighting crews, such as the ones billionaire developer Rick Caruso hired to protect his properties as devastating wildfires burned swaths of the region.

"The legislation would block private firefighting companies from hooking up to public hydrants, targeting a longstanding headache for the union."

Only it was an imaginary headache in this instance.

Rather than stand around looking at empty fire hydrants, like many LA firefighters, Caruso’s teams brought their own tanker trucks and didn’t use any city or county water.

Water though, isn’t the real issue. The California firefighter’s union doesn’t want any competition from the private sector even if the private crews could command the clouds to supply their water.

"[The] 35,000-member California Professional Firefighters union has long argued that private crews hinder their members’ work and should be outlawed.

"They don’t train with us. They don’t train to the same standards," said Brian Rice, CPF president. "They’re not equipped like we are. They’re not professionals like we are. And anybody that wants to argue and tell you differently, they’re fooling themselves.

"Nobody’s trained like a professional California firefighter."

Private sector firefighters are currently regulated by the state.

"The state already requires private crews to abide by certain rules, such as checking in with incident commanders, labeling their equipment non-emergency and not using lights or sirens.

"Bryan and McKinnor’s proposal would add another regulation to that list, originally created through a 2018 bill California legislators passed in the wake of a particularly destructive wildfire season in 2017."

What the union really means is the private companies in LA aren’t burdened by a top heavy — in more ways than one — lesbian command structure and forced to jump through DEI hoops that add cost without improving performance.

The union’s goal is to make private firefighters so expensive everyone just defaults to city or county firefighters.

Caruso’s spokesman commented, "It’s a shame that some people would willfully spread disinformation and push partisan politics at a time when all our energy needs to be focused on rebuilding our communities," the spokesperson said, referencing the allegations Caruso’s crews hooked up to city water.

"Rick is busy fixing problems and is not worried about political noise that does not clean a single lot or build a single home."

California legislators would be wise to do the same.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.