According to Cal Fire, over 7,800 firefighters are assigned to the Palisades fires.

Some crews have come from other states, and even other countries, to help battle the blazes in LA, but the fortunate few have had their homes and property protected by private firefighting crews.

LA Times business reporter Andrea Chang wrote about the controversial presence of private firefighters. 

Private fire crews gained attention after Kim Kardashian and Kanye West employed them to guard their home against the Woolsey Fire in 2018. 

“The idea that really rich homeowners can save their properties by contracting out these private firefighters while their neighbors’ homes or the homes just down the hill burn is very upsetting to a lot of people,” Chang said. 

The private crews are employed by outfits like All Terrain and West Coast Water Tenders. Pay rates for the crews depend on the contract. 

“They will send out little crews, firefighters with fire trucks with non-potable water trucks to station themselves outside of your nice mansion. Some of them are people who work directly for those companies. Others are off duty firefighters,” Chang explained. “I spoke to one who worked for the Los Alamitos Fire Department, but he had a couple of days off. So he called one of these companies and said, ‘I’m free if you want to hire me for the weekend.’ And they did.” 

Chang discussed how hiring private firefighters can be a “win-win” for insurance companies. 

“Some of the wealthy homeowners are paying for the services themselves. Other times, these companies are actually contracted out by insurance companies... If a homeowner’s house is saved, that’s good for the homeowner and it’s also good for the insurance company because it saves them from having to make a huge payout to rebuild,” she said. 

One of the most prominent employers of private firefighters in the Palisades Fire is billionaire businessman Rick Caruso, who hired crews to defend his properties, including the Palisades Village mall. 

“A lot of people have been noticing that the Palisades Village, this beautiful white structure at the corner there in the Palisades, is pretty much unscathed. I drove by there the other day. Everything’s still standing... And then directly across the street, completely demolished,” Chang said. “If you’re a business owner or a homeowner right nearby and your properties were not saved, I think that makes people incredibly upset that they were not being able to access those same resources.” 

Caruso remarked in an Instagram post that his daughter’s home and one of his family homes were destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

“I think for a lot of people, they see it as hiring your own private security for your house. If you have the means, have to do that to protect your property,” Chang said.

Watch the full interview above.

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