Supporting key projects that equip and protect Los Angeles firefighters.
Improving firefighter health, safety and wellness.
Enhancing firefighters' ability to perform their life-saving duties.
Expanding the resources needed to protect life, property, and the environment.
Urgent funding needs requested and informed by LAFD leadership.
Wildland gloves are a critical piece of personal protective equipment for firefighters responding to brush fires and wildland incidents. Designed for high heat, sharp terrain, and extended wear, these gloves offer greater dexterity and protection than standard structure fire gloves, helping prevent burns, blisters, and hand injuries in challenging conditions.
The LAFD is working to outfit every firefighter with two sets of wildland gloves to ensure readiness for year-round wildfire threats. This essential investment directly improves firefighter safety and performance on the front lines. Donor support will help ensure that all LAFD personnel are fully equipped to meet the growing demands of wildland firefighting across Los Angeles.
When wildfires break out across California, LAFD firefighters are often deployed for weeks at a time under extremely demanding conditions. Without proper travel bags, they face the challenge of carrying essential tools, gear, and personal necessities in makeshift or insufficient packs.
The LAFD wants to secure specialized, tactical 14-day travel bags designed specifically for these extended missions. These bags are easy to carry yet built to hold everything a firefighter needs for a long stint on the fire line. This gear ensures that LAFD crews can remain fully equipped with the necessary resources to protect communities here in Los Angeles and when mutual aid duty calls.
At busy LAFD fire stations, washers and dryers are often working overtime. With more than ten firefighters at some stations relying on the same set of machines, these units quickly wear down from constant use. When washers and dryers break or become unusable, firefighters are left without a dependable way to clean their uniforms and station wear between calls.
The Foundation wants to ensure that every LAFD fire station is equipped with a high-capacity washer and dryer, ensuring that firefighters have clean gear, dependable station equipment, and a reliable means to clean their uniforms and station wear between calls.
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The LAFD fire stations stand as symbols of service and sacrifice — but many are showing their age. More than half of the city’s fire stations are over 50 years old, built in a different era and not designed to handle today’s demands. Decades of nonstop operation, heavy equipment, and round-the-clock use have taken a visible toll.
Peeling paint, cracked flooring, worn-out surfaces, and outdated finishes now greet the firefighters who dedicate their lives to protecting the community. What were once state-of-the-art facilities have become environments that challenge both safety and morale. Investing in new flooring, fresh paint, and essential upkeep isn’t just about appearances — it’s about creating a clean, safe, and functional space for those who serve the city 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Reliable internet connectivity is critical for LAFD’s specialty units operating in remote or infrastructure-damaged areas. Starlink satellite systems provide high-speed, portable internet access where traditional service is unavailable, ensuring that units like Arson, Brush Clearance, and Urban Search and Rescue can maintain communication, access mapping tools, transmit data, and coordinate effectively in the field.
These systems have become an integral part of emergency response, particularly during wildfires or large-scale incidents in rugged terrain. With additional Starlink units, the LAFD can expand connectivity across more teams, reduce communication gaps, and enhance operational efficiency when and where it matters most. Donor support will help equip specialized personnel with the tools they need to respond safely and effectively—no matter the location.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is working to adopt Tablet Command—a cloud-based incident management system used successfully by other fire agencies in the region. This technology replaces outdated, paper-based tracking with real-time digital tools that enhance coordination, situational awareness, and resource management during emergency incidents. With Tablet Command, commanders can view unit locations, assign resources, and adjust strategies on the fly using live mapping and communication features.
Bringing this system to LAFD would modernize field operations and significantly improve response efficiency, particularly during large-scale incidents or complex rescues. It also allows for seamless coordination across agencies during mutual aid events. With support from donors, the LAFD can equip its incident commanders with this proven technology—helping ensure faster, more informed decisions that protect lives, property, and firefighter safety across Los Angeles.
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The LAFD responds to over 500,000 calls annually, with many involving low-acuity patients who unnecessarily crowd emergency rooms. This issue, compounded by the high number of incidents involving people experiencing homelessness, strains resources and extends wait times at hospitals. There is a critical need for a solution that addresses these inefficiencies and improves the overall emergency medical response.
The LAFD launched the Advanced Provider Response Units (APRUs) to address this issue. Each unit pairs a paramedic with a nurse practitioner to provide on-site care and reduce the need for hospital transport. This program has significantly decreased emergency room congestion, improved patient outcomes, and lowered healthcare costs.
Water Tenders are critical support vehicles that supply large volumes of water to fire engines operating in areas without nearby hydrants—particularly in brush zones, hillside neighborhoods, and during wildfire responses. These specialized trucks allow crews to sustain fire suppression efforts in terrain where access to water is limited or non-existent.
The LAFD is seeking to add an additional Water Tender to its fleet to meet growing demand in high-risk regions. Expanding this capacity ensures that firefighters have the resources needed to control fast-moving fires and protect both lives and property.
A Type 6 engine is light, fast, and agile vehicle, designed to access terrain that larger fire engines simply cannot reach. With a dedicated water tank, off-road capability, and a pump for immediate attack, it allows the LAFD to respond to small fires before they become uncontrollable. This vehicle is especially useful for wildland-urban interface areas like the hills and canyons around Los Angeles.
By adding more Type 6 vehicles to the LAFD fleet, it ensures that the LAFD can get where they need to go, carry essential firefighting tools, and act quickly to protect lives, property, and the city’s natural spaces.
Collaborating with LAFD leadership to address urgent needs and provide long-term support.
The Adopt-A-Fire-Station (AAFS) program aims to maintain the operational quality of the equipment and appliances in each of the LAFD's 106 fire stations. These stations serve as a second home for the members who live and work there 24/7. The constant use of equipment and appliances results in an increased need for repairs and replacements. One hundred percent of every dollar donated to the AAFS program goes directly to support the donor's selected station. General donations to the program support a pool of funding for underserved LAFD fire stations, or stations that lack financial support from their community to address their needs.
The LAFD Foundation supports four youth programs: Camp S.P.A.R.K., the Youth F.I.R.E. Academy, the LAFD Cadets, and Fire and EMS Magnet High Schools. These programs introduce students to fire service careers through hands-on activities, building leadership, teamwork, and confidence - skills applicable to all areas of life. These programs also help create a diverse recruitment pipeline for the LAFD, supporting the Department's efforts to hire local candidates.
For more information about the items or programs highlighted above, please contact:
The LAFD Foundation supports the LAFD in protecting life, property, and the environment by providing essential equipment and funding programs to supplement city resources.
Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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