Posted on 01/11/2025 10:37:23 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
When devastating wildfires erupted across Los Angeles County this week, David Torgerson’s team of firefighters went to work.
The thousands of city, county and state firefighters dispatched to battle the blazes went wherever they were needed. The crews from Torgerson’s Wildfire Defense Systems, however, set out for particular addresses. Armed with hoses, fire-blocking gel and their own water supply, the Montana-based outfit contracts with insurance companies to defend the homes of customers who buy policies that include their services.
It’s a win-win if the private firefighters succeed in saving a home, said Torgerson, the company’s founder and executive chairman. The homeowner keeps their home and the insurance company doesn’t have to make a hefty payout to rebuild.
“It makes good sense,” he said. “It’s always better if the homes and businesses don’t burn.”
Torgerson’s operation, which has been contracting with insurance companies since 2008 and employs hundreds of firefighters, engineers and other staff, highlights a lesser-known component of fighting wildfires in the U.S. Along with the more than 7,500 publicly funded firefighters and emergency personnel dispatched to the current conflagrations, which have burned more than 30,000 acres and destroyed more than 9,000 structures, a smaller force of for-hire professionals is on the fire lines for insurance companies, wealthy individual property owners or government agencies in need of additional hands.
Their presence isn’t without controversy. Private firefighters hired by homeowners directly have drawn criticism for heightening class divides during disasters. This week, a Pacific Palisades homeowner received backlash for putting a call out on X, the social media site formerly named Twitter, for help finding private firefighters who could save his home.
“Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? Need to act fast here. All neighbors houses burning,” he wrote...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Any decent insurance company provides private firefighters with your policy. See my USAA post above.
Also if private firefighters are on the scene, that frees up the government firefighters to cover more area. Of couse the leftist press would never point that out. Maybe they should tell their readers that if you are upset that the Kardashians and Hollywood elite can afford private firefighters then quit giving them your money!
I bet that these private firefighters are not DEI hires!
Count on government getting over-involved in everything and screwing up a good thing, is the lesson there.
I have no problem with high dollar properties having their own fire protection. I would like it too, but that is how the ball rolls.
I have an average home on a couple of acres and this type of fire protection is included with my policy.
https://www.usaa.com/insurance/property/homeowners/wildfire-response-program/
The question is: Why don’t the other insurance companies (State Farm, Allstate, etc) include this with their policies?
Better for everybody’s house to burn down than that there be any inequality in fighting the fire.
Leftism is based entirely on envy, resentment and revenge.
Here in my part of Northern California, we are now limited to the California Fair Plan. Many properties are mobiles on land—only two, then one and then no insurer would write such policies.
I would love to have USAA, but they stopped writing in this area two years ago.
Membership dues for the VFD in my area are $50 annually.
Most residents don’t bother to join. But if there is a fire, the volunteers where I live respond.
The downside is that the volunteer fire department is in the red due to non members who still get service.
What to do? What to do?
In NorCal also but with USAA 40+ years. Hardscaped around my home a decade ago, thinned the trees, no branches below 5 feet off the ground, keep the gutters clear, have a metal roof, fire-resistant vents, and my garage is detached.
Last couple of years I have been digging a trench around the property line and installed pipe connected to my sprinkler system with 4’ tall piping attached to the 6’ tall metal fence topped with the same sprinklers used on golf courses. Configured them to sweep and can completely soak my home and surrounding yard in 10 minutes. Installed a back-up solar battery to the system in case the power goes out. If I can afford to do this on Social Security and a small pension, why didn’t all the millionaires in L.A. do it for their homes?
Every property is different. We have five acres, kept cleared (mowed) as possible. Trees along the property line shared with the fire department have been cut down or trimmed. I do have a large oak over the detached garage. Metal roofs on all buildings. Well for our water so the pump is electric. We do what we can.
Eventually it will cease to exist because, even though the members might donate their time, it costs a lot of money for the purpose and maintenance of rigs, equipment, training, certifications, and facilities, etc., etc., etc. to keep it going. It ain't cheap and it ain't free.
Lol, someone always fishes it out.
This helps everyone .
Rich people protecting their homes can free up resources for helping others.
purpose = purchase.
Ten Thousand Dollars. This is the average cost for my local VFD to outfit and train a volunteer firefighter.
Seventy Thousand Dollars. This is the bargain price we just paid as we found a good used (not used up) tanker truck.
Eighty Thousand Dollars. This is the annual budgeted income.
"Cease to exist"? Could happen. Which would leave over 3,000 residents with no fire department services except from another VFD 30 minutes away that is even broker and is badly managed.
Eventually it will cease to exist because, even though the members might donate their time, it costs a lot of money for the purpose and maintenance of rigs, equipment, training, certifications, and facilities, etc., etc., etc. to keep it going. It ain't cheap and it ain't free.
A corollary of Thomas Sowell's contention that the true minimum wage is zero.
Probably not DEI compliant in their hiring practices...Newscum and his gang will be after them soon if they are not successful in saving their properties.
“ In NorCal also but with USAA 40+ years. Hardscaped around my home a decade ago, thinned the trees, no branches below 5 feet off the ground, keep the gutters clear, have a metal roof, fire-resistant vents, and my garage is detached.”
*******************************************************************
Sounds like you’re being very proactive with wildfire risk mitigation. I’ve been with USAA over 50 years. Hang on to your policy/coverage. If you ever let it lapse you might not be able to get NEW USAA coverage in California… they are very strict on approving new coverage in California and being a longtime USAA member won’t mean you’ll be exempt from their screening criteria.
What are your thoughts on the latest civilian they made CEO?
Bought the property and built the home three decades ago. Moved from a SoCal home that we also built that was half the square footage of this one. When USAA quoted me the exact same amount for Homeowners with double the square footage, I questioned if there was a mistake. No mistake, they said. The reasons they listed were: metal roof, Trex deck, no fireplace, and detached garage far enough away from the home without a covered walkway. People need to understand what increases liability and plan accordingly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.