'A political decision': Los Angeles official slams mayor's ousting of fire chief

USA Today

25-02-2025

'A political decision': Los Angeles official slams mayor's ousting of fire chief
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Los Angeles fire officials fielded questions, concerns in town hall
Emotions ran high inside a packed theater in Malibu, California, as Palisades Fire victims had a chance to press officials.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez is calling for former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley to appeal her firing by Mayor Karen Bass.
Rodriguez argues that Crowley's firing was "scapegoating" and questions if the mayor's stated reasons for the dismissal were legitimate.
Bass defends the firing, stating that it was in the best interest of public safety and that new leadership is needed in the fire department.
LOS ANGELES − A Los Angeles city councilwoman is calling for former fire Chief Kristin Crowley to appeal her controversial firing by Mayor Karen Bass, telling USA TODAY in an interview on Monday that the ousting isn't making the fire-ravaged area any safer.
Bass fired Crowley on Friday, saying in a statement that she made the move "in the best interests of Los Angeles' public safety." Bass pointed to Crowley's leadership during the devastating firestorm that killed dozens and burned thousands of homes in the Los Angeles region in January.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, whose district includes areas affected by the one of the blazes (the 800-acre Hurst Fire), said in a statement Friday that Crowley's firing was "scapegoating."
"It was really distasteful and inaccurate to suggest that this was going to better public safety," Rodriguez told USA TODAY. "To suggest that she failed to do her job given that there were limitations on resources that she (Crowley) had pointed out."
Rodriguez questioned if Bass' stated reasons for the firing were legitimate and that an appeal would provide the city an opportunity to transparently examine the action.
"We have an obligation to protect the people of Los Angeles and have the right people at the helm making good and thoughtful decisions," Rodriguez said. "It shouldn't be a political decision."
The former fire chief hasn't said whether she will appeal but told KNBC on Saturday that: "It has been an absolute honor to represent and lead the men and women of one of the greatest fire departments in the world."
Crowley has the option to appeal within 10 days of her firing, or March 3. It would take two-thirds of the council's 15 members to overturn the firing.
Firing stokes criticisms of fire budget management
Explaining the firing, Bass cited a report from the Los Angeles Times saying that fire officials decided not to assign roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines for emergency deployment in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood before the fires broke out.
Rodriguez called that rationale a "gotcha," and said that the availability of apparatus necessary for the available firefighters would be uncovered in an investigation.
The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 echoed Rodriguez's assessment of the firing in a statement to USA TODAY, saying that she was dismissed without a full investigation.
"We still have nearly 100 broken down fire engines, trucks, and ambulances in the maintenance yard because of civilian mechanic job cuts," the union said. "This is a city that has neglected its fire department and can't even pay our firefighters correctly for the work that we perform every single day."
Bass has been dogged by criticisms of how she managed the fire budget in the year before the wind-driven fires that burned for weeks, killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 15,000 structures.
Budget documents previously obtained by USA TODAY show that the Los Angeles Fire Department's budget was reduced from $837 million in fiscal year 2024 to $819 million in fiscal year 2025 as a part of broader cuts for the year.
"LAFD's operating budget did get reduced by $17.6 million - part of that reduction included 61 total positions (civilian) being eliminated," the city's controller's office said in comments sent to USA TODAY accompanying the documents.
Crowley spoke out against the budget cuts in television interviews during the emergency, echoing warnings she made to the fire commission in December.
"The $17 million budget cut and elimination of our civilian positions, like our mechanics, did and has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our apparatus," Crowley said on CNN.
Tensions between Crowley and Bass nearly hit a boiling point after the interviews, and the mayor's office had to deny rumors that Crowley had been fired during a meeting between the two on Jan. 10.
Councilmember pushes back on notification after-action report claims
Bass was out of the country as the Palisades caught fire, having left on a diplomatic trip to attend the inauguration of Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama.
"She knew that we had a major wind event coming up that had the potential for a wildfire," Tom Doran, who fled the Palisades Fire that destroyed his home told USA TODAY in January. "She's off in another country, and at the taxpayer's expense, when she should've been here ... She is the chief executive of Los Angeles. Yes, she delegates but if you delegate you're the one in charge."
In an interview on local Fox program "The Issue Is," Bass claimed that Crowley failed to notify her about the coming fire danger and that she was not aware of warnings made before the firestorm.
Days before the fires broke out, the National Weather Service forecasted the fire weather, warning residents: "A LIFE-THREATENING, DESTRUCTIVE, Widespread Windstorm."
Rodriguez said that she was aware of the danger ahead of the fires through multiple media outlets and that the responsibility of notifying the mayor fell on the Emergency Management Department − not on the fire chief.
The councilwoman called the mayor's rationale around Crowley not participating in an after-action report, "not accurate."
"Everything that I know about Chief Crowley and everything that I know about ... her participation and cooperation in every single (after action-report), it was just out of character for the standard operating procedures that occurred with every major incident," Rodriguez said.
Bass' office stood by the firing in a statement to USA TODAY on Monday, pointing to the off-duty firefighters and saying: "Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs."
City Council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson told City News Service Monday that he wanted Crowley fired.
'I was one who was encouraging the mayor to separate with the chief weeks ago,' said Harris-Dawson, whose district in central Los Angeles was not in any immediate danger from the fires.
'I was acting mayor at the time and I was not getting a flow of information from the chief during that time period,' Harris-Dawson told the outlet. 'Frankly, I did not talk to her until I showed up to a press conference at 4 o'clock that afternoon of the fire.'