TSN supported whistleblower Nick Vaquero shares concerns about L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management 2025 fire response

LAist published an article March 11, 2026 sharing details of a whistleblower complaint filed by Nick Vaquero, an associate director in the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, which detailed concerns about the OEM’s response to the L.A. fires in January 2025.

Vaquero, whose whistleblower complaint was filed in October 2025 after repeatedly raising his concerns internally, including with management, told LAist in interviews he was speaking out now because as someone living in the county of Los Angeles, “we could easily be Altadena next.”  The fire in Altadena was the second most destructive wildfire in the history of California.

According to the LAist article, the complaint Vaquero filed included allegations that a colleague with a “history of sleeping on the job” was sleeping in his office during his overnight shift between January 7 and 8 2025. He said in his complaint there was “an entrenched pattern of mismanagement within the Office of Emergency Management” and “the Agency’s ability to perform its emergency management mission and safeguard county residents” has been “materially degraded.”

Vaquero told LAist that he could face professional and reputational consequences for speaking out but felt he needed to sound the alarm in order to ensure the necessary changes to prevent this from happening again.  “Unfortunately whistleblowers like Nick Vaquero all too often face potential retaliation simply for sharing information of significant public interest,” said Margaux Ewen, Whistleblower Protection Program Director at The Signals Network (TSN). “We are proud to support Nick as he navigates the unique challenges of blowing the whistle about the emergency response to some of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history.”

TSN provides holistic and individualized support to whistleblowers who disclose public interest information. Due to the patchwork of current whistleblower protection laws, whistleblowers are at significant risk of retaliation, estrangement, or alienation for speaking out for the public good.

About TSN

TSN is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to supporting whistleblowers who risk their livelihoods to share public interest information with the press. Founded in 2017 by journalists, whistleblowers and lawyers, TSN operates internationally to hold powerful interests accountable. TSN provides customized support to a selected group of whistleblowers who have contributed to published reports of significant wrongdoing. This support may include legal, psychological, physical safety, temporary safe-housing, online safety, career support and communication support.

For media inquiries, email protect@thesignalsnetwork.org