The ongoing fires in Los Angeles, among California’s most destructive, have highlighted significant understaffing in city fire departments. In comparison to national averages, Los Angeles has less than one firefighter per 1,000 residents. The Oakland and San Jose fire departments are similarly stretched, raising concerns for residents' safety during disasters. Fire officials emphasize the critical need for increased staffing to effectively manage fire emergencies and protect communities, especially as budget cuts threaten resources even further.
"We have the lowest staffing number out of all metropolitan cities in the United States, and we are severely understaffed," said Jerry May, a San Jose Fire Department fire captain and president of San Jose Firefighters Local 230 Union, representing the city's 647 firefighters.
"We saw that Los Angeles was one of the lowest staffed fire departments in the country, and Oakland is right there with them," Unger said. "We have desperately low staffing levels in Oakland."
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