It’s not well known, but 45% of all firefighters in the U.S. are actually employed by private companies.

LA.’s public firefighters have worked heroically to contain the area’s spreading wildfires but private companies are playing a vital role in saving homes and property.

A good thing, right?

Not to the left. They believe that if one person’s home is burnt to the ground, it’s not fair that other properties are spared.

Rick Caruso, a commercial real estate developer who began his career as a commissioner for L.A.’s city Water & Power Department, is being roasted for hiring private fire crews to save Palisades Village, an outdoor mall of three dozen shops he owns in fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades. It’s not FAIR that his property and others have been spared. If one house burns down, every house should burn down.

The unions are griping too. “We consider them a liability,” says Brian Rice, the head of the union that represents public firefighters. “Private contract companies are not trained or equipped to operate in this environment.” Oh, so that’s why everyone is hiring them!