Tone deaf! Fury after millionaire CEO offers to pay ‘any amount’ for private firefighters to protect his Pacific Palisades mansion as area burns to the ground

A Los Angeles millionaire CEO sparked outrage for a ‘tone-deaf’ post asking for the help of ‘private firefighters’ to protect his Pacific Palisades mansion as emergency services struggled to help residents as the area burned to the ground .

Keith Wasserman, co-founder of real estate investment firm Gelt Venture Partners, wrote to X asking for help as a massive wildfire tore through the mountainside.

‘Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? Must act fast here. All the neighbors’ houses are on fire. Will pay any amount. Thanks,’ he wrote before receiving backlash from what he called ‘trolls’.

‘Incredible nerve’ wrote commentator Sam Vance. ‘His family is evacuated and he tries to hire private firefighters to risk their lives to save a home he has definitely insured. Incredibly tone deaf.’

Another userafter Jacquie weighed in: ‘If you find yourself tweeting for private firefighters to protect your property, you should probably question what you’ve become as a person.’

User Renny added: ‘So you’re suggesting that potentially life-saving resources (even if ‘private’) should be diverted to save your house because you’re rich while tens of thousands of people are trying to evacuate?’

Wasserman clapped back that he had left “hours ago” and noted that he was only “trying to protect home.”

The huge fire has already forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, some of whom have abandoned their cars and fled on foot to safety with roads blocked.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said ‘many structures’ have already been ‘destroyed’ in Pacific Palisades. Officials have not given an exact number, but said about 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders and 13,000 structures are threatened.

Manish Kapoor wrote: ‘A tone-deaf public display of ‘rich privilege’ in a time of social crisis is an odd choice, but ok.’

Another user wrote: ‘This reminds me of the morning show – where the rich guy gets screwed for hiring people to defend his own house while everyone else’s burns down.’

James Line shared Wasserman’s post with screenshot from Titanic, a passenger asks ‘Will the lifeboats sit by class?’

The post was liked more than 16,000 times.

“This guy is an evacuee, he wants someone to save his property instead of poor people’s lives,” wrote another user.

The original post has been viewed more than 900,000 times at the time of writing and has received nearly 500 responses.

Wasserman went on to joke, ‘Mama, I’m going viral!’

He later added: ‘So here are all trolls! Hello trolls!’

Some continued to express sympathy for Wasserman as the raging wildfire is burning through more than 2,900 acres of Los Angeles land at an extraordinary rate.

‘You are alive. That’s what you need to focus on right now,’ wrote Roxanne Hoge.

‘It’s so sad that you pay exorbitant taxes and that’s what you have to do to save your family. I hope someone helps!’ added user Balthazar.

Some users said they doubted private firefighters even existed in the United States.

Private firefighting companies played a key role in fighting fires in California vineyards in 2021.

But authorities were eventually forced to step in and detained the private firefighters, accusing them of igniting dangerous backfires and failing to leave an evacuated area.

Firefighter Ryan Bellanca and his crew denied the allegations but admitted his team failed to inform Cal Fire, the state fire department, that it was in the evacuated area, as required by law.

The raging wildfire in a Los Angeles suburb that is home to many Hollywood celebrities has consumed buildings and prompted panicked evacuations since Tuesday as hurricane-force winds tore through the region.

Tankers full of water had showered the inferno from the sky throughout the afternoon, but all aircraft were later grounded in deteriorating wind conditions and visibility.

Terrified residents abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood and fled on foot from the nearly 3,000-acre blaze that engulfed an area dotted with multimillion-dollar homes in Santa Monica- the mountains.

Firefighters used bulldozers to push dozens of vehicles – including expensive models such as BMWs, Teslas and Mercedes – to one side, leaving many crumpled and with their alarms blaring. Some celebrities posted comments and pictures on social media platforms.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said despite the chaotic evacuation, there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

Residents at the Pasadena Park Healthcare & Wellness Center were evacuated today as the Eaton Fire grew nearby, KNBC reported.

Velma Wright, 102, was evacuated from a care facility as embers and flames approached in Pasadena, an AFP photographer saw.

Actor James Woods posted a video on X showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his home as he prepared to evacuate and said shortly after that all fire alarms went off.

‘I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills lasted so long. It feels like losing a loved one,’ Woods said.

The exact cause of the fire is still unknown, officials said.