THIS is the heartbreaking moment a LA firefighter chief broke down in tears on live TV after he warned about the threat of a deadly blaze for years.
Freddy Escobar – a 35 year veteran of the department – blamed a lack of money and resources as he stood among charred rubble and remains.
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Los Angeles fire union chief Freddy Escobar spoke about the LA firesCredit: CNN
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The fire chief broke down in tears on live TVCredit: CNN
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Escobar became emotional when discussing a warning he previously put out about a blazeCredit: CNN
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The Los Angeles United Firefighters president broke down as he revealed he sent warning messages before the deadly inferno broke out.
Escobar’s ominous words, from a commissioners meeting a month ago, were recalled to him buy CNN journalist Kyung Lah.
At the meeting, Escobar said: “It’s dire, someone will die.”
The fire chief told the CNN journalist: “It’s eerie listening to your words because that’s what occurred.”
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“So, it’s – let me just take a minute, sorry. You’re not supposed to make me cry.”
Escobar choked up before he emotionally turned away from the cameras to cry.
He then said: “This is a woefully understaffed fire department.
“We’re either going to have a fire department that reflects 2025, or we’re going to have a fire department that’s going to reflect the 1960s.”
This heartbreaking interview came after it came out that the LA Fire Department refused to deploy 1,000 firefighters ahead of the inferno that tore down the Palisades area.
Officials reportedly decided to staff just of the more than 40 engines available to them on Tuesday January 7, according to the LA Times.
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Bosses chose not to keep firefighters on duty for a second shift on the day the devastating inferno began.
The department reportedly only started to call it’s firefighters back after the Palisades wildfire had started to burn out of control.
When the blaze broke out at 10:30am on Tuesday, the damning report claimed no extra engines were deployed to the area.
The Palisades fire has now been raging for over a week as more than 23,000 acres of land has been burnt up by it.
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A man jumps as crews are battling to brush fire near Auto Center Drive in Ventura on MondayCredit: Getty
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The horrifying fires have burnt some neighborhoods to the groundCredit: Getty