You may not be able to find what you are looking for based on a department web site. You can try calling the Public Information Officer of any department in Southern California. Let hem know what you are looking for and why you are doing this sort of thing. You may also need a letter of verification from your instructor.
When I did this sort of project in my fire science class, I had to spend the better half of a day in a HQ station going over reports to find what I needed.
While there, (if you go to a station or HQ) learn all you can about that department. You never know if you may wind up back there for an interview for a badge or have someone from that department on an interview panel for another department. Best wishes

The advice thusfar offered is (as the British say) Spot-On.

If all else fails, I will be happy to offer public assistance and direct you to an authoritative source. Just post the specifics of your request.

Stay Safe and Be Well,

Brian
Please no e-mail. Public replies only. Thank you!

If you just need to get information and articles, not necessarily from an official source like a fire dept (this is the case for the fire tech classes I'm taking this summer), then try searching the online sites of major newspapers like the LA Times or Daily News. (A Google search should get you their exact URLs.)

If you do need to get info more directly from a department, it might be worth joining the LAFD group on Yahoo, because reports of fires and related calls (like Hazmat) are posted there. That URL is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LAFD/ and you will have to join to get into the archives or receive new messages. You can also set it up to send you e-mails when new announcements post. There may be other groups as well; this is just the only one I know of.