LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION

First responders in Los Angeles face an enormous array of challenges: wildfires, car and truck accidents, train collisions, earthquakes, and hazardous-material leaks and spills. Firefighters must endure searing heat, exposure to carcinogens, and other life-threatening conditions; paramedics are rigorously trained to respond to all types of injuries, from heart attacks or strokes to accident-related traumas, shootings, and drownings.

Approximately 97% of the fire department's budget is allocated to personnel expenses, leaving just 3% to cover the department’s other needs. The LAFD Foundation is a non-profit organization that was created by civic and corporate leaders in 2010 to supplement the fire department’s budget by providing first responders with essential equipment, new technology, and educational resources that would otherwise go unfunded.

They are heroes, here to serve us — and the Foundation’s mission is to serve them.