Member's statement: Los Angeles: Wildfires
Member's statement by Mr Robbie Butler on .
- MLA
- Mr Robbie Butler
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 13 January 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Los Angeles: Wildfires
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4737854
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Hopefully, someone has wished you a happy new year, Mr Speaker. If they have not done so, I will.
Our newsfeeds are filled with the unfolding international tragedy of the wildfires in Los Angeles that, we have been told today, have claimed 24 lives. Tragically, that count may still escalate. The count of 24 deaths does not paint a picture of the full devastation that is unfolding in that region. It is one of the wealthiest and most highly and densely populated areas in the world, so you would think that the fire safety standards and attitudes to such things there would mean that people live in absolute safety. I take the opportunity — I am sure that Members will join me — to send a message of not just sympathy and awareness but support to all those who have been affected. I do not know what the investigation will pull out as to the cause, but there is no doubt that the tinder-dry area that it is, the heat and the winds that people are talking about will have played a part. I want us to turn our minds to the people who step up to the mark in instances such as this. First, obviously — you know that I will make no apology for this — I pay credit to front-line fire and rescue personnel who step up and, at great risk to themselves, step in to evacuate and protect property and lead people to safety. At great risk, they have spent days away from their families. I had the pleasure of being with the fire service in LA a number of years ago, on the fire engines, or fire trucks, as they are called over there, in Fresno, California. Wildfires are a very real and present everyday danger that they face and they do so on a much greater scale than we do. I noticed today that the local government there have talked about easing the bureaucratic burden on building back. That is welcome, but I warn that their standards for house construction and their attitudes to fire safety are not like ours. I hope that, if there is a role that we can play in Northern Ireland, where we have perhaps one of the best fire and rescue services in the world and really good construction regulations, we can do so. I will end by, unusually, paying tribute to two members of our media. The media give us a rap on a daily basis, which is quite right. We have seen absolutely fantastic representation from David Blevins of Sky News and Emma Vardy of the BBC, who have, in the midst of the unfolding tragedy, been giving us accurate, truthful and up-to-date information. I am sure that Members will join me in passing on our thoughts to the people of LA. If there is any support that we can give, I am sure that we will give it.
492 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.12 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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