During the Palisades fire in January, a team of volunteers spent 21 days in the field, collaborating closely with the Los Angeles County Fire Department as they evacuated their neighbors, moved flammable materials away from homes and extinguished ember fires.
The volunteers had prepared for more than a year with the Community Brigade Program, an experimental initiative launched in October 2023.
Volunteers trained with firefighters, studied fire behavior and situational awareness and learned how to communicate during an emergency.
Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department said: “The Community Brigade was instrumental in working alongside first responders against one of the most destructive natural disasters in Los Angeles County history.”
The program, prompted by another Southern California blaze, the 2018 Woolsey fire, was designed to equip qualified residents to serve as force multipliers during wildfires.
The driving force behind the effort is Brent Woodworth, Chairman and CEO of Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation (LAEPF), a non-profit organization that helps government agencies work with businesses, academic institutions and community members to mitigate disasters.
Woodworth and his team collaborated with professors from California State University-Long Beach to analyze what locals experienced during the Woolsey fire and teamed up with the LA County Fire Department to understand its needs.
Brent Woodworth commented in an interview with Harvard Public Health that: “Nothing like our collaboration had happened in the country before.”
He spoke of the selection process for the volunteer brigade, saying one of two possible qualifications were required; people who could operate in the field and those who can abide by all the rules that apply during field operations.
Woodworth also spoke to Harvard Public Health about the training process, saying volunteers went through 60 or 70 days of training in the classroom online.
He added: “They had to pass a number of tests, physical and otherwise.”
Woodworth notes of the diversity within the volunteer brigade: “They come from a variety of backgrounds.
“We have a medical doctor, an EMT, a gentleman who competes in the world’s strongest man competition, and a superior court judge.
“We have architects, engineers, people from the entertainment industry, former city council members, and former firefighters.
“We have a woman—I believe she is a retired firefighter—who worked with a helicopter brush crew cutting fire lines through heavy chapparal [to help keep the fire from spreading]. We also have ex-military people and construction workers.
During the Palisades Fire, the Community Brigade assisted by performing evacuation support; knocking on doors and completing last-minute triage.
The team was also involved in what Woodworth called “mop operations”, like extinguishing spot fires and ember fires. They also helped people who needed food, water or fuel.
Brent Woodworth, Chairman and CEO of Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation helped to create a volunteer Community Brigade who helped the firefighting efforts during the Palisades fire.
Woodworth said in an interview that nothing like the collaboration had happened in the country before.
