THE CENTER SQUARE—California lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban private firefighters, like those who saved many buildings in the Palisades and Eaton fires, from using public hydrants, saying firefighting is a “public good.”
Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, introduced Assembly Bill 1075 with the support of the California Professional Firefighters Union, which claims private firefighters are not trained or equipped as well.
“They don’t train to the same standards,” said California Professional Firefighters Union President Brian Rice to Politico regarding the bill. “They’re not equipped like we are. They’re not professionals like we are.”
As the Palisades Fire raged and destroyed most of the Pacific Palisades, one complex—Rick Caruso’s Palisade Village shopping center—escaped largely unscathed as the surrounding structures burned to…
