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 ...
My fear that the racism card would not be played was unfounded.
If the city and state did their jobs then the middle class and poor folks would not see their houses burn down...
It is a great way to learn that lesson.
This is how insurance is supposed to work, investing the cash flow in profitable mitigations.
There are sprinkler remote control systems and home monitoring systems.
Homeowners can act as their own firemen from motel rooms miles away.
The real class divide is that all this green enviro BS is from rich liberals. Who definitely can afford insurance policies with private firefighters. The hoipoloi, not so much. CA has learned nothing in the last 50 years, and forgotten what little they ever knew.
In 1987 I visited Los Angeles.
I saw the “Armed Response” signs of private security companies on many lawns.
The left is going to have to erect enormous distractions from scrutiny of their one party control of policies.
About 2/3 of firefighters in the USA are volunteers.
THe number of volunteers is dwindling as the regulatory requirements for volunteers has become more and more burdensome.
Yes, and they don’t have Trump to blame - yet.
I already see The Atlantic is blaming Trump this week for... wait for it... the loss in Ukraine.
Newsom, when asked about hydrants not working, said, “Go talk to the locals.” Then pretended to be on the phone with the President.
While sprinklers are great, there are issues.
They should have their own dedicated water supply. Drawing from the city system will deplete water available to fire services.
Having responded to a number of homes with sprinklers, they have very little intended affect on the home they are intended to serve when the wind is blowing hard as it was in LA. Your neighbor might be happy with your sprinkler watering their home, however.
MANY SPRINKLER SYSTEMs WERE LEFT ON IN PALISADES.
HAMPERED THE WATER PRESSURE
I guess the effectiveness of sprinklers depends on which way the wind is blowing.
If I were doing it in CA I would load up on sprinklers on the east side of the house presuming Santa Ana winds from the east.
That is not a perfect solution by any means—a close look at wind directions around LA in the past few days and forecasts in the next few days do show winds that can come from the north or south.
In a true firestorm situation then it is like a tornado of course.
It is all about mitigation—you can try to move the odds in your favor a little bit—no guarantees.
I don’t think raging fires check addresses, average incomes and racial numbers of areas it burns.
Just a hunch :)
There are still volunteer fire departments that only extinguish fires on houses that have paid the annual fee.
Of course when an uncovered house burns there is outrage that the volunteer fire department stood by just because the homeowner didn’t help pay for the manpower and equipment.
No doubt an LA Slimes smear on Rick Caruso, Karen Bass’s opponent in 2022 and likely opponent in 2026, because he hired a private firefighting crew to put out fires to a shopping center he owned in the area.
bttt
Private firefighters are included with my USAA homeowner’s policy at no extra charge. In my area it is Chloeta - https://www.chloeta.com/ - a Native American owned business.
During any wildfire situation they show up on your property with men and equipment to save your house. Along with wetting down the house, they will cut down trees they feel may be a threat in windy, fire situations. USAA gave me the option to opt-out if I was not okay with that. My belief: Cut the trees, save my home.
The homeowners with these remote control systems need to have a backup power source because the city is going to cut power to areas that are under imminent fire danger.
One of the reasons given for the fire hydrants not working is the power companies cut power to prevent certain areas to prevent sparks from burned down utility poles and above ground utilities from spreading the fire more rapidly.
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