Actor Denis Leary told “The View” co-hosts Wednesday that the Los Angeles Fire Department is seeing budget cuts every year and said they have been understaffed for more than a decade amid the ongoing forest fires in the area.
“I can tell you this about the LA department. I know that’s true with fire departments across the country,” he said, referring to his organization, the Leary Firefighters Foundation, which has been around since 2000. “Every year the request for money from departments across the country, big and small, big cities, small towns, from my foundation, we get, I can’t even tell you hundreds of requests, and every year we get more and more.”
The Leary Firefighters Foundation provides equipment, training and more to departments across the country. Leary argued that the reason for all the requests is that the fire department’s budgets have always come first, noting that firefighters “don’t go on strike,” like other departments would.
“So one thing I know to be true, and you’ll hear more about it in the next one – as the fires go down, that’s very true in LA. They – the wildfires are getting worse every year, they’re getting further budget cuts Every year they’ve been understaffed for over a decade, haven’t they? They had to lay off the mechanics who fixed the broken fire trucks,” Leary added.
CALIFORNIA FIRES: IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM
On “The View,” Denis Leary details what he believes are major problems with Los Angeles firefighters. (Screenshot/ABC/TheView)
Los Angeles Fire Chief warned in a December memo that $17.6 million in budget cuts had plunged the department into “unprecedented operational challenges.”
Chief Kristen Crowley told reporters on Friday that the city has failed its residents and has been understaffed and underfunded for years.
“We’re screaming for adequate funding to make sure our firefighters can do their jobs so we can serve the community,” she said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE REPORTING
A California Department of Corrections hand crew works on containment lines before the Palisades fire Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Santa Monica, California. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Leary also spoke about the concern that there were hydrants that ran dry, which Gov. Gavin Newsom launched an investigation.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Look, this is coming from the firefighters’ point of view. It doesn’t matter if the hydrants were working or not. That fire, 100-mile-an-hour winds, it was a hurricane of fire. There’s not enough water in the ocean to put it out, okay. Let’s wait until—I always say let’s wait until things calm down, and the firefighters will tell you, i. You will find out what the problems are,” said the actor.
