LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A whistleblower’s complaint filed in court alleges that a Los Angeles County worker who had “a long history of sleeping on the job” held a key position during the destructive Eaton Fire, a news radio station and website reported.
Nick Vaquero, an L.A. County associate director of the Office of Emergency Management, filed the complaint in late 2025, according to LAist.
“Vaquero said he saw Steve Lieberman, a nearly 40-year county employee, asleep at work more than a dozen times in two years prior to Lieberman supervising OEM’s overnight shift from the evening of Jan. 7 through the morning of Jan. 8, 2025,” LAist reported Wednesday. “The whistleblower complaint alleges Lieberman was ‘sleeping in his office’ during his overnight shift.”
Civil rights attorneys and survivors of the deadly Eaton Fire said Thursday they are closely following the state’s investigation into the emergency response and may pursue federal legal action once the findings are released.
A statement provided to ABC7 by an L.A. County spokesperson said Lieberman “had no responsibility for receiving or issuing evacuation alerts and warnings.
“Emergency alerts and warnings are issued based on decisions made by Unified Command in the field and relayed directly to the Office of Emergency Management Alert and Warning unit,” the statement said. “It is unacceptable for any OEM employee in the midst of an emergency response to fall asleep. However, to be absolutely clear, Mr. Lieberman had no impact on the timing of alerts and warnings to Altadena. To take these allegations and suggest that this led to the tragic deaths of 19 Altadena residents is patently false and seems intended to recklessly escalate residents’ concerns.”
The statement added that, in accordance with county policy, all of Vaquero’s claims have been forwarded for investigation.
“As these claims were submitted as part of a confidential personnel matter, we are unable to comment further,” the statement said.
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