As Southern California braces for its hottest weather of the summer, a new firefighting crew is stomping through the woods.
The city's first full-time and paid wildfire firefighters trained on wildland fire behavior, weather, chainsaw operations and line cutting
"The first in the city's history, which brings us in alignment with our allied agencies around us. They are constantly training. They are ready for whatever the fire department needs to dispatch them to," Battalion Chief Adam Knabe told KCAL.
Former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley tried to get CREW 4 in place long before the January wildfires, but the city did not allocate enough funds in the budget for the unit.
"It was Chief Crowley that fought ferociously to try and get this funded," Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said. "We had to create the actual personnel position and get it funded. She and I worked on that for the better part of two years."
