The US Coast Guard is investigating whether members of
fireboat units stationed near the Port of Los Angeles improperly obtained Coast
Guard licenses required by the City of Los Angeles, according to a leaked LA
Fire Dept. memo.
According to the memo, which was sent out in late November
and obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the Coast Guard is looking
into whether federal licensing records were falsified for LAFD members assigned
to the department’s fleet of five fireboats.
Investigators are said to be focusing on whether licensing
paperwork documenting the time spent on the water by some firefighters was
overstated. Under city rules, pilots and mates assigned to the boats are
required to first secure Coast Guard-issued licenses that involve specialized
training, a written exam and hundreds of hours of verified sea experience.
A total of 15 pilots and mates are assigned to the units.
According to the LAFD memo, a special agent of the Coast
Guard Investigative Service in June requested 10 years of Fire Dept. logs,
journals and other records documenting fleet operations.
The fireboat units, which are based at firehouses near the
port, include scuba divers trained for underwater firefighting, plus crews that
operate the LAFD’s harbor-based fleet.
According to Fire Dept. spokesman Peter Sanders, the LAFD internally
conducted a similar investigation in 2012, but was unable to substantiate
allegations that records had been falsified.
Sanders, however, said his agency is cooperating with the
probe.
