7 On Your Side obtains report showing initial response to Palisades Fire

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. (KABC) -- The 7 On Your Side Investigates team is the first to learn how the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded in the initial minutes after the Palisades Fire sparked.

A retired battalion chief believes an incident report obtained by Eyewitness News shows the department did not pre-deploy enough resources before the dangerous winds.

LAFD told Eyewitness News its first crew raced to the scene in less than ten minutes, but some still believe not enough boots on the ground were called in before the fire broke out.

"This required strong leadership that day - that did not happen," said now retired LAFD Battalion Chief Rick Crawford.

Crawford said the frontline firefighters did their best, but he doesn't believe LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley put all the needed resources in place the morning of Jan. 7, when the winds started to whip and the fire danger grew.

Eyewitness News obtained a LAFD incident report showing the first call to 911 that reported the Palisades Fire was made on Jan. 7 at 10:29 a.m.

That report goes on to show a dispatcher sent a crew at 10:30 a.m., and the first unit on scene arrived around 18 minutes later at 10:48 a.m.

LAFD Captain Erik Scott said that the first unit, which came from LAFD Fire Station 23, did not immediately update its on-scene status because it was focused on the fire.

"Going to the dispatched address covers about four miles and in talking with that captain they estimate the time of arrival to that address as being approximately seven minutes," said Scott.

Crawford said he is not concerned with that response time, but he is concerned over the number of extra firefighters brought in that morning.

According to a pre-deployment plan for Jan. 7 sent out by LAFD, 128 firefighters were removed from normal dispatch that morning and dedicated to racing to potential brush fires.

But that plan does not show any of those pre-deployed firefighters being based in Fire Stations 23 and 69, which are closest to where the first 911 call for the Palisades fire was made.

That plan released by LAFD shows Brentwood's Fire 19 did have two firefighters dedicated to brush fires that day, but that station can be a roughly nine mile drive away from where the Palisades Fire sparked.

Chief Crowley last week defended that pre-deployment plan.

"We pre-deployed the necessary resources in regard to what we do within the system that we got," said Chief Crowley on Jan. 15.

The incident report obtained by Eyewitness News also showed at 10:33 a.m. on Jan. 7 a fire truck from Station 69 requested ten additional engine companies as it rushed to the Palisades Fire.

"Which tells me the task force commander was situationally aware that he or she was resource light in that area," said Crawford. "So requesting those companies was the right thing."

The report also showed the Palisades Fire exploded from 10 acres at 10:46 a.m., to 200 acres at 11:43 a.m.

"That is a breakneck speed. So having additional resources, not saying it would've stopped the fire, but it would've given you the best chance to minimize the potential impact that we have now all seen is a catastrophe," said Crawford.

LAFD has told Eyewitness News in the past that extra engines cannot be parked at Fire Stations 23 and 69 because of limited space.

Crawford said he has never used parking as a reason not to stage crews in an area.