Paul Pringle

1 month ago | latimes.com | Alene Tchekmedyian |Paul Pringle

Long before the devastating fire in Pacific Palisades, leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s labor union complained that the agency did not have enough money to keep the city safe. “It’s a damn shame, and excuse my language, that it took this incident, the Pacific Palisades, to finally bring attention to our grossly understaffed, underfunded Fire Department,” Freddy Escobar, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, said at a city Fire Commission meeting in February.

Mar 27, 2025 | latimes.com | Alene Tchekmedyian |Paul Pringle

More than two and a half months after flames leveled much of Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles Fire Department and Mayor Karen Bass’ office have maintained an extraordinary secrecy about the city’s preparations for and response to the inferno. The Fire Department, the mayor and her representatives have yet to provide answers to basic questions from The Times about whether they approved or even reviewed the LAFD’s plan to protect the Palisades before the Jan. 7 blaze.

Mar 6, 2025 | latimes.com | Alene Tchekmedyian |Paul Pringle

A former labor leader for the Los Angeles firefighters union admitted to underreporting the price of a car he purchased to avoid paying taxes. A former labor leader for Los Angeles firefighters is under scrutiny for buying a union car at an alleged discount — and then reporting an even lower sale price to the state to avoid paying taxes, two people with knowledge of the transactions told The Times.

Mar 6, 2025 | latimes.com | Paul Pringle |Alene Tchekmedyian

A former top officer of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s labor union has been removed from his post and faces an internal investigation over allegations that he engaged in financial improprieties involving the union’s charity for injured firefighters, including using $5,000 for personal expenses.

Feb 16, 2025 | thebrunswicknews.com | Paul Pringle |Alene Tchekmedyian

By Paul Pringle and Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES - The first 911 call came at 10:29 a.m., from a resident of Piedra Morada Drive in Pacific Palisades. Amid high winds, a fire was visible in the distance, the flames flickering over a chaparral-choked ridge. About 11 minutes later, the Los Angeles Fire Department's Engine 23 radioed into dispatch: