LOS ANGELES (KABC) — In an exclusive interview, Los Angeles Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Fields told 7 On Your Side Investigates the plan he helped craft for the January 7 wind event “wasn’t enough.”
“What I’m sorry for is that it wasn’t enough,” said Fields. “I can’t use the word regret, but I am sorry.”
We have wanted to sit down with Deputy Chief Fields since the devastating L.A. wildfires. Back in February, he agreed to talk to ABC7 about the pre-deployment plan he helped built, but the fire department canceled that interview. Now, he is answering all of our questions.
“Was there a failure there in not pre-deploying more?” Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter Kevin Ozebek asked Fields.
“That’s not a simple answer,” answered Fields. “Failure? No, it wasn’t a failure. We deployed our resources to the capability that we had, given the constraints that we have.”
On Jan. 7, those “constraints” became clear as more than 6,000 structures burned and 12 lives were lost in the Palisades.
The day before the fire, according to an LAFD press release, 128 firefighters were “pre-deployed and augmented.” They “were removed from normal 9-1-1 dispatch” and dedicated for potential brushfires. But none of those 128 firefighters were placed directly in the Palisades, and Fields was asked why.
“Today, I couldn’t give you an exact answer as to why, you know, nine months removed. I don’t have a specific answer for that,” responded Fields. “Not to say that there was not a specific reason.”
Fields told ABC7 the two fire stations in the Palisades — Fire Stations 23 and 69 — were fully staffed that day but they don’t have space for extra engines with extra firefighters. Fields also said that some of the 128 firefighters were pre-deployed to nearby neighborhoods like Brentwood.
“I’m sorry that the plan we put in place did not leave us in the W (win) column and that it left 12 families without their loved ones,” said Fields. “That’s what I’m sorry for.”
According to Fields, he felt the financial constraints of a cash strapped department when he helped build the LAFD pre-deployment plan.
“We are considering the financial impact of staffing for overtime in every decision we make. So it is a constant consideration,” said Fields.
“Looking back at it now, was it too much of a consideration on the 6th and the morning of the 7th?” asked Ozebek.
“No,” Fields said.
Though the department’s own after action report concluded that, “Although an effort was made to maintain fiscal responsibility within the Department, there remains no substitute for preparedness.”
Fields said in the planning meeting the day before the fire, the possibility of keeping firefighters going off duty at 7 a.m. on Jan. 7 on for an extra shift was never discussed. He was asked if that was a mistake, given one of the reasons why Mayor Karen Bass cited for terminating Kristin Crowley as Chief of LAFD was not keeping those firefighters on duty.
“It was a mistake,” Fields said.
For Fields and his department, it has been 10 months of reflection.
“I have to look my friend in the face who no longer has his home and hope that he’s still my friend because of the decision that I made, that we made,” said Fields. “Did I make a mistake? We did. We made some errors, but we erred on the side of trying to do our absolute best for a city that we are committed to.”
The LAFD says that going forward it will now pre-deploy more resources when dangerous winds blow in. It has updated what it calls its “matrix,” which is essentially a formula it uses to determine how many extra boots on the ground are needed for a significant event.
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