California bill would make public hydrants off-limits to private fire crews, report says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) -- A bill introduced in the California Legislature would make public hydrants off-limits to private fire crews like the one hired by developer Rick Caruso during the Palisades Fire, Politico reported Wednesday.

Private crews "don't train with us. They don't train to the same standards," said Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters union, told the digital newspaper. "They're not equipped like we are. They're not professionals like we are. And anybody that wants to argue and tell you differently, they're fooling themselves. Nobody's trained like a professional California firefighter."

Caruso hired private firefighters to protect the Palisades Village shopping center that he owns as January's destructive wildfire rampaged through the area, though a spokesperson has said the crews did not use city water. The mall remained standing amid a landscape of destroyed homes and other structures.

With help from the Caruso Family Foundation, Northern California-based company Samara and Airbnb will construct and install factory-built homes that only take five to six months to make and can be installed in as little as a few weeks.

The new bill was proposed by Democratic Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan and Tina McKinnor.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it has completed its Phase 1 removal of household hazardous materials from properties destroyed or heavily damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires, in line with a 30-day timeline requested by local officials.

The announcement means the wildfire debris-removal effort is now fully into Phase 2, during which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- or private contractors hired by individual property owners -- will remove all other materials from fire-damaged properties, including ash, wood and other debris.

City News Service contributed to this report.