LA firefighters face resource crisis [Video]

Less than a month before fires swept across Los Angeles, a group of longtime firefighters gathered at City Hall to plead for more resources. They were at a “breaking point,” one said. Another revealed that million-dollar fire trucks sat idle because budget cuts had shrunk the number of mechanics available to fix them.“I’m going to say what people can’t say,” said Freddy Escobar, president of the city’s fire union and a veteran firefighter. “If we cut one position, if we close one station … the residents of Los Angeles are going to pay the ultimate sacrifice, and someone will die.”The firefighters’ concerns over resources, it seems, weren’t off the mark. A CNN analysis of the most recent data available from the 10 largest U.S. cities and other comparable departments shows the Los Angeles Fire Department is less staffed than almost any other major city, leaving it struggling to meet both …