LA Fire Dept. faces criticism after donating 'surplus' equipment and supplies to Ukraine in 2022

LOS ANGELES, CA- The saga of Los Angeles city officials' gross incompetence continues.

The Post Millennial reports that in 2022, the city donated copious amounts of “surplus” firefighting equipment to Ukraine. 

Just months after Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine, the city sent hoses, nozzles, helmets, body armor, bunker hear, and other items of protective gear to the country. 

ABC-7 reported that the First-in Fire Foundation contacted the LA County Fire Department, which collaborated with Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles City Fire Department, and the National Guard to collect surplus gear being stored. 

Then-Fire Chief Daryl Osby issued a statement at the time: "We are extremely proud to help our brother and sister firefighters in Ukraine because we know how dangerous it is to fight fire with full gear. We’ve never experienced doing it in a war. So whatever we can do to assist them, to enable them to protect the lives and property of their fellow citizens, we’re on board.” 

“Everyone wants to know what can we do to support these brave citizens of Ukraine who are, you know, risking their lives to save their country, and I think, I think the residents of L.A. County are going to appreciate the chief,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said at the time. “And they’ll be able to say ‘we’re part of a county that actually stepped up and did something tangible to help those who are over there fighting this war.” 

In addition to LA County, Kern County, located just to the north, donated a retired fire engine to Ukraine through US Ambulances for Ukraine in October 2024, KGET reported. 

“In this case, we were approached by a nonprofit who said, ‘Hey, we have a need in Ukraine for a fire engine to support a fire department out there. And so they’d been asking for a while, and finally, we had an engine that became available, and we were able to specifically fill a request of this nonprofit and send an engine over in Ukraine where there is a civilian population that need of fire service,’ Jonathan Drucker of the Kern County Fire Department said at the time. 

These donations have come under a microscope as Los Angeles is currently under siege by at least two significant wildfires and several smaller ones. On Tuesday, the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires began, with the former exploding to over 17,000 acres as of Thursday. The smaller Eaton fire has claimed over 10,000 acres of real estate. The smaller fires, including the Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills section, had burned nearly 50 acres by Tuesday morning. The Hurst fire had burned 855 acres as of the same time. 

As of Friday, the Palisades and Eaton fires were zero percent contained. Firefighters have been battling strong winds, which have subsided some since Tuesday, and limited water supply. Blame is flying around, including for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s water management policies, which allegedly sacrificed increased water supplies for alleged endangered species such as smelt, a small fish.

The City of Los Angeles has also been heavily criticized for emphasizing DEI initiatives instead of developing wildfire management procedures. Fires like these are not new to the city, and some accuse it of misallocating priorities. 

In addition, the city’s Democrat mayor, Karen Bass, was out of the country in Ghana, attending the inauguration of the country’s president despite the city having no vested interest in that country. Before she left, warnings had been issued that the city was at risk for wildfires due to extremely high Santa Ana winds and arid conditions. When she returned to the city, Bass gave a blank stare for nearly two minutes to a reporter while being questioned about her absence during the carnage.