Los Angeles residents hire private firefighters to save their homes. Here’s what they cost.
As wildfires continue to burn across Los Angeles County, a social media campaign to recruit firefighters has sparked outrage. This also brought attention to a little-known place Workforce working to put out fire:Private fire brigade.
In a since-deleted post on social media platform ) Homes Private Firefighters” connection.
“Quick action is needed here. All neighbours’ houses are burning. Any amount will be paid,” he added.
City and county fire departments are stretched thin as they continue to battle wind-driven blazes across Los Angeles that were scorched as of Monday. Over 60 square miles Land was destroyed, killing at least 24 people and displacing tens of thousands. Municipal resources such as fire hydrants, has dried up in some areas.
Those who can afford to do so are turning to private firefighters for help in the hope of saving their homes from raging wildfires.
All Risk Shield, a California company that provides professional wildfire protection services to homeowners across the state, told CBS MoneyWatch it has fielded more than 120 calls to homes at risk from wildfires in Los Angeles counties.
“Just like municipal firefighters, we don’t have the resources to respond to everyone’s calls,” company spokesman Jose Torres told CBS Financial Watch. “But we’ve saved some,” he added, referring to the company’s efforts to save homes from destruction.
How much does a private firefighter cost?
Some of the company’s firefighters also work for county fire departments. Others are retired from active duty, according to the company, which offers different levels of protection ranging in price from $2,500 to $14,000.
Customers called on all shields to try and protect their homes from the flames before the blaze spread to their residences.
“We deploy our teams to these high-risk areas that we know fires can potentially spread to, and we’re on scene before the fires spread to that area,” Torres said. That includes extinguishing homeowners’ properties. Fires, in addition to the company’s own flame retardants, use resident resources such as swimming pools, spas, rainwater tanks and water tanks to extinguish the flames. Torres noted that the company never relies on municipal resources, such as fire hydrants, to serve private customers.
He added that the company operates completely independently of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, but “we are helping each other indirectly.”
“Our team has been working alongside municipal firefighters during this event,” he said.
The National Wildfire Suppression Association (NWSA), which represents private firefighter services, said contractors often join forces with local, state and federal firefighting efforts. For such companies, contracts with private residences and landowners make up only a small portion of the business; most of the contracts come from providing supplemental personnel and equipment for local, state and federal firefighting efforts, according to the State Fire Marshal.
Fire protection and hazard mitigation contractors also perform fire risk reduction tasks for insurance companies, such as clearing brush, pruning or removing trees near homes, and applying fire retardants. A growing segment of the industry, this work typically occurs during the off-season and not in response to active fires.
An “all hands on deck” situation
The association, which represents 369 private firefighting companies across the country, confirmed that its members have deployed personnel and other resources to contain the Los Angeles wildfires. Its member organizations combined can bring together up to 11,000 professionally trained wildland firefighters.
“The size and scope of these fires and the resulting destruction require an all-out approach to containment, recovery and future prevention, including state, federal and private resources,” the NWSA said in a statement to CBS .” Money Watch.
