To the editor: It's scary that the Los Angeles Fire Department is obviously not fully capable of handling “complex” fires, especially since there are so many industrial facilities throughout our city (“It's been six days. Why can't Los Angeles firefighters put out the fire at the Boyle Heights cold storage warehouse?” June 22). Meanwhile, it is difficult to get home insurance here simply because of our natural fire risk.
Why does the city allow buildings that are not adequately fire-protected? Shouldn't the permitting process ensure that a structure has a plan and system for these types of emergencies? Who pays for all this ineffective firefighting, the property owner or us, the taxpayers?
No one is making up for the lost days and health problems caused by this week's toxic smoke. It's an even more serious concern with huge new data centers popping up everywhere, filled with batteries (which already use huge amounts of water). How prepared are we to fight an inevitable fire like that?
Michael Sandstrom, Glendale
