Eagle Rock couple loses home to fire as they struggled to reach 911
911 'broken' amid LAFD staffing issues: Residents
A backyard barbecue turned tragic when Robert and Mea Crosswhite's Eagle Rock home caught fire, and they struggled to reach 911 for help. Neighbors and LAFD insiders are raising concerns about the broken 911 system, citing understaffing and technology issues.
LOS ANGELES - When a backyard barbecue took a devastating turn Sunday afternoon, Robert and Mea Crosswhite’s Eagle Rock home went up in flames. But what haunts them most isn’t just the fire; it’s the critical minutes lost trying to reach help.
"I started screaming. Somebody called 911," Robert Crosswhite recalls. But that call for help turned into a nightmare.
"I called 911, and it kept going to a weird messaging system. I couldn't get a live person. It was so frustrating," says Mea Crosswhite, visibly shaken. She says she remained on the phone with the emergency line for nearly 10 minutes, unable to speak to a dispatcher.
"I don’t know if they were overloaded. I just know I couldn’t get through to a person. When you're in panic mode, you don’t want to hit keys and navigate prompts. You want to hear: '911, what's your emergency?'"
As flames engulfed the home, a neighbor was forced to physically run to Fire Station 42, located just around the corner, to alert firefighters in person.
Despite their proximity, crews arrived too late to save the Crosswhite residence. "If they had gotten here five minutes earlier, that’s a big difference," Robert says. "The trucks are right around the corner."
Neighbor Rudy Zuzow backs up the Crosswhites’ concerns, calling the 911 system "broken." He had his own frightening experience last November when his mother suffered a fall.
"I called 911 on one phone and my sister — who lives in Glendale — on the other. She got here in 10 minutes. I couldn’t get through to 911 and had to run to the fire station myself," says Zuzow.
Zuzow, Robert, and Mea emphasize that their frustrations are not with the firefighters, who they say did their best, but with the 911 infrastructure itself. They are now urging city leaders to overhaul the system before someone dies waiting.
"It's frustrating when every second counts. If someone was drowning or having a heart attack, they’d be gone," Robert warns.
However, LAFD insiders, including firefighters who contacted us directly, are raising red flags of their own. They say the problem isn’t just technology; it’s staffing.
One firefighter, who asked to remain anonymous, painted a grim picture: "This fire in Eagle Rock is DAILY proof of what cutting resources does. Being on hold with 911 for more than five minutes? People die. Homes burn."
According to internal sources, the 911 dispatch center and fire department are critically understaffed. As of July 3, 109 positions will be unfilled, including 21 paramedic ambulance roles.
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The firefighter continued: "Had any of the first four fire companies on the scene been unavailable due to cuts or overload, the house next door would have gone up in flames too. Two homes lost to a barbecue! The system is broken. 911 is your lifeline — and no one answers."
City leaders have been previously warned. The LAFD insider cited previous reports, including this newsroom’s investigation into ambulance shortages and long response times:
"Gina Silva has already exposed the inadequate number of ambulances provided by the City of Los Angeles. Now we see the result of underfunding our 911 and fire systems: chaos, destruction, and avoidable loss. Your politicians are not listening — because YOU are not speaking up."
"We understand how distressing emergencies can be and want to clarify how the 9-1-1 system works in Los Angeles. When a person calls 9-1-1, their call is first answered by a trained dispatcher at a central Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), typically operated by LAPD or CHP. Based on the nature of the emergency, the call is then routed to the appropriate agency; fire, medical, or police for dispatch," said LAFD Cpt. Erik Scott in a statement to FOX 11.
The statement continued to say, "In this case, LAFD serves as the secondary PSAP and only receives the call after it has been transferred. During times of high call volume, there may be delays. It’s critical that callers remain on the line and do not hang up, as doing so can further delay assistance."
If you’ve experienced problems with the 911 system, we want to hear from you. Reach out to Gina.Silva@fox.com.