In the wake of November's devastating Woolsey fire, Los Angeles County officials are considering whether to expand the on-call fire program, which allows volunteer firefighters to train in remote areas to defend nearby homes.

• LA County considering expanding on-call fire program
• Corral Canyon neighborhood could be a model for expansion
• Community purchased fire engine that was commandeered during Woolsey fire

Corral Canyon could be a model for other communities. Neighbors purchased an old fire engine at an auction in 2009 for around $12,000. It eventually became integrated into the county fire department as Engine 271.

A team of seven neighbors attended a specialized fire academy and now train every other week.

For ten years, the team led by Matt Haynes prepared for a natural disaster. But as you may expect, when it finally came, things didn't exactly go to plan.

In the heat of the Woolsey fire, L.A. County officials commandeered the on-call engine, staffed it with full time firefighters and sent it out of the community, leaving Corral Canyon without any defenses.

“This battalion chief didn’t understand that this was a community-owned engine and that our program was a little bit different than the other on-call fire programs in the county. We pushed back but it really was their decision,” Haynes said.

Without the engine, the on-call team went back to defend their community with hoses. Other neighbors, like Paul Morra, stayed behind as well.

“I did the best I could,” Morra said.

As the fire moved into the canyon, Morra begged the county to send an engine to Corral Canyon or send support from the air, but help never came. During the fire, he drove down to Pacific Coast Highway and pleaded with firefighters parked along the coast to head up the canyon.

“I literally felt like I was on my hands and knees begging,” Morra said. "They said they ‘were waiting for orders.’”

Despite all the community had done to prepare, Corral Canyon lost 22 homes.

“I don’t know how they can live with themselves,” said Paul Cox of the firefighters who refused to drive up the canyon. Cox lost his dream home in the fire, and still returns to its rubble to sift through the debris.

Spectrum News 1 sent a request to Los Angeles County Fire’s chief for an interview for this story but did not hear back as of publication.