With intense brown eyes, a biker-style mustache, a raspy voice, and a physique resembling that of an NFL defensive end, Freddy Escobar has established a formidable presence in the political landscape of Los Angeles as the leader of the city’s firefighters union.
He confronted me head-on during a Rick Caruso campaign event in 2022, expressing his dissatisfaction with what he perceived as my excessively negative reporting on the mega-developer’s bid for mayor. Most recently, Escobar criticized Mayor Karen Bass for dismissing L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley following the Palisades fire.
“Management and labor, united. We were unbeatable,” the 55-year-old remarked during an hour-long discussion at the union’s headquarters in Westlake. “And [Crowley] was made a scapegoat. We lost a significant champion for us.”
Since 2018, Escobar has been the President of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City and is currently in his final two-year term before retirement. Throughout his career, L.A. firefighters have faced challenging times: the COVID pandemic, the Palisades inferno, and a decrease in fire stations compared to those available in 1960, when the population was considerably lower than today’s nearly 4 million. Scandals involving past union leaders have also marred the department.
“Our members in the field are doing well,” Escobar responded when asked about how firefighters are coping through it all.
Sitting in an armchair, with thick glasses and a long-sleeved shirt that softened his appearance, Escobar was surrounded by mementos from his 35-year firefighting career: family pictures, helmets and hats, lanyards, bottles, and even a Santa Claus figure dressed as a firefighter, along with numerous binders of reports.
“You won’t hear them complain,” he said of his field colleagues — the burden of complaints rests on him.
“What we do every single day is unsustainable in the field — regardless of how young you are,” Escobar expressed, his tone more weary than irate. “It’s a Band-Aid that’s been there for years. We need to address it.”
Since the Palisades fire, Escobar has made numerous appearances: on CNN, surveying the damage, stating in USA Today that the LAFD is “critically and dangerously understaffed,” and attending City Hall alongside Crowley in an unsuccessful bid to have her reinstated by the City Council.
“She was the first chief who truly considered our input. I told her, ‘I’ll stand by you through it all,’” he said.
Freddy Escobar in his United Firefighters of Los Angeles City office.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Escobar was born in Ecuador to an Ecuadorian mother and a Colombian father, moving to Pico-Union at age 4 before relocating to Lynwood as “the gangs were moving in.”
During fourth grade at Roosevelt Elementary, firefighters were called to extinguish a fire at his school. Shortly thereafter, his class made a field trip to a fire station for a career day.
“You’re just a child,” Escobar recalled. “You’re in awe — these are your heroes, you know. You think, ‘Wow, these guys are larger than life.’”
He engaged in a firefighting Explorers program at Downey High, then joined the LAFD after serving in the Marines. His first posting was at Station 11 in Pico-Union. Escobar became a shop steward but didn’t consider pursuing labor leadership until the early 2000s, when his fire truck was struck by drivers on two occasions.
“The friends there, we refer to them as,” he explained, using a term I had not encountered for chapines — Guatemalans. Escobar remained unfazed as he began to express his thoughts resonant of former City Council president Nury Martinez, who resigned after her disparaging comments were recorded. “They love to drink all day long. They drink excessively. They get behind the wheel. So I got hit … twice by those guys.”
His casual derogatory comments about an essential segment of L.A.’s community were so unexpected that I could only stare ahead and let him continue.
He mentioned expressing frustration to a coworker that his union representative wasn’t adequately defending him during the investigations into the accidents, which eventually found him blameless.
The coworker encouraged him, saying, “Six months later, it’s election season, and he said, ‘Hey, loud mouth. Here’s your chance. Go and make a difference.’”
Escobar acted on the advice, successfully winning a place on the union’s 10-member executive board. After years of feeling trapped in “a crybaby arena” primarily focused on maintaining power rather than supporting the rank-and-file, he challenged an incumbent for the top position and triumphed.
During the pandemic, the union gained national attention for refusing to endorse a mandate for city employees to be vaccinated or face job loss. Although Escobar received the COVID vaccine, he believed he needed to honor the preferences of members who opted out.
That conflict, he mentioned, “drove a wedge between us politically,” but lingering internal hostilities mostly faded after contending with the Palisades fire. Escobar’s eyes glimmered when I brought up his warning a month prior to the fire, stating “someone will die” if LAFD resources were further diminished.
The Palisades fire, which ignited on January 7 following dire predictions of extreme winds, ravaged nearly 7,000 structures and claimed 12 lives.
A Times investigation revealed that LAFD officials opted not to order around 1,000 firefighters to stay on duty for an additional shift as winds escalated — a decision that would have doubled the available personnel. Bass pointed to the failure to retain those firefighters on duty as one reason she dismissed Crowley.
Escobar dismissed The Times’ findings as overly dependent on former LAFD personnel “who have their own agendas.” He didn’t directly respond to my inquiry about whether Crowley did everything within her power, maintaining that she was made a scapegoat without a formal investigation.
He contended instead that the Palisades disaster could have been better managed if the LAFD had sufficient funding — he aims to propose a bond measure for the Fire Department in the 2026 ballot.
Freddy Escobar speaks at a news conference in February 2025 following the dismissal of Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley by Mayor Karen Bass.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
He refrained from speculating on why Bass let Crowley go, especially after Crowley publicly criticized the mayor just days after the Palisades fire commenced for allegedly underfunding her department.
He indicated that the two were once “inseparable,” adding, “Bass donned Crowley’s brush jacket and helmet and all the firefighting gear. They were joined at the hip, and then had one minor falling out. Picture if you were married — have one breakup, and you’re getting divorced?”
He expressed no regrets about his outspoken public demeanor: “If they want to label it abrasive or bullying, I prefer to think of it as standing up for what’s right.”
Then our discussion shifted to the topic of diversity within the LAFD.
Earlier, Escobar acknowledged that he had gained from a consent decree established in 1974 mandating that half of LAFD hires be from minority groups (which ended in 2002).
Now, he criticized the fire commission — the civilian board overseeing the LAFD — for supposedly aiming to create a “no-fail academy” to reflect the demographics of the city.
“We have ample people of color and diverse genders that could — should — represent Los Angeles without compromising standards,” Escobar remarked. “We would love to have all the women in the fire service. However, if you’re a woman seeking this career, you might prefer to work in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, or Huntington Beach, where the call load is lighter.”
He believes that white and Black firefighters are “overrepresented, whatever that means” within LAFD, with whites benefitting from what was once “an all-white department” and the numbers of Black firefighters mirroring “the demographic makeup of the community.”
Whites constitute 28% of L.A.’s population and 43% of city firefighters, while Blacks make up 9% of the population and 11% of firefighters.
The LAFD comprises only 7% of women. The other significant disparity is with Latinos — they represent 47% of the population but only 31% of LAFD personnel.
“It’s not a fit for everyone,” Escobar remarked before jokingly stating, “They all aspire to be soccer players!”
Earlier, he mentioned that he failed a tryout with the L.A. Galaxy because “I wasn’t a professional soccer player. The same applies to firefighting; it isn’t for just anyone.”
I chuckled at his jest but reminded him of his own journey.
He responded that LAFD has “solid” recruitment initiatives, but ultimately “you need to enjoy hands-on work…. The new generation is intriguing. They seek to be Instagram-famous, aiming for high salaries without putting in the effort.”
Escobar displayed vulnerability at times during our discussion, admitting that it “breaks his heart” to realize he hasn’t been more involved in his family’s life. He feels he has “failed” by not advocating for more resources.
However, his ambiguous explanation regarding the shortage of Latino firefighters in L.A., coupled with his unsavory thoughts about Guatemalans, reflects a familiar type of Angeleno I often encounter: a powerful Latino who dismisses their own kind once they achieve success.
Escobar converses with the crew at Station 26, where he served nearly two decades before assuming the leadership of L.A.’s firefighters union in 2018.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
We eventually arrived at one of Escobar’s former stations: Station 26, whose motto is “Anytime Anyplace,” where he ascended through the ranks to the position of captain.
Station Captain Al Ballestra commended Escobar for still volunteering to cover firefighting shifts during holidays. Escobar takes on about four shifts a month, even though his role as union president is a full-time responsibility.
“It’s exactly what any membership would desire from their union leader,” the 18-year veteran stated. “Someone with frontline experience who maintains that connection with us.”
Escobar then observed a rookie training session in the rec room. I asked the assembled group for their impressions of their union head.
Engineer Gordon Wilson raised his hand, prompting silence in the room. He listed all the layers of bureaucracy — internal, the fire commission, the City Council, the mayor — that engage with L.A. firefighters. He pointed at Escobar.
“This individual right here,” Wilson declared loudly, “has an extraordinary knack for communicating with them all.”
