Former fire chief Kristin Crowley loses fight for her position

On Tuesday, the former Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department fought for her job to be reinstated through an appeal process that did not go in her favor. She will not get her job back, though she is expected to continue working for the department. 

At the meeting, Crowley pushed back for the first time against the arguments Bass used to justify her termination. Crowley argued that she was facing retaliation for publicly highlighting a lack of resources at the department. 

Going into the special meeting on Tuesday, she had to count on the support of at least 10 of the 15 councilmembers, or two-thirds. The appeal was almost certain to fail because she only counted on the support from councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Traci Park.

The main justification for her removal comes from Mayor Karen Bass, who claims Crowley allegedly made decisions that ultimately caused the Palisades fires to burn out of control. 

”A thousand firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke, were instead sent home,” said Bass in a previous press conference. 

Crowley responded to her accusation. 

“As for the 1,000 firefighters who were allegedly sent home prior to the fires, we did not have enough apparatus to put them on,” Crowley said. “Because of budget cuts and lack of investments in our fleet maintenance, over 100 of our fire engines, fire trucks and ambulances sat broken down in our maintenance yards unable to be used to help during the worst wildfire events in our history.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Bass doubled-down on her claims, adding that Crowley allegedly refused to conduct an after-action report following the Palisades fire. 

A claim that Crowley says is false. 

“I did not refuse to conduct an after-action report,” said Crowley to the council. “And let me be clear, this is a false accusation.”

“During our discussions about an after-action report, I advised the fire commissioners about my opinion that was best in regard to how to use LAFD resources,” continued Crowley. 

“I said that the LAFD is not capable, nor do we have the proper resources to adequately conduct an after-action report for the Palisades Fire.” 

Bass was in Ghana when the Palisades fire broke out, leaving council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson as acting mayor. When Bass returned, she blamed Crowley for not warning her of the powerful Santa Ana winds that put Los Angeles at high-risk of fires before she left. 

Back in January, Crowley took to the news media to talk about the lack of resources the fire department struggled with and that Crowley says ultimately caused the lack of response to the fires. 

Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who represents the central San Fernando Valley, also publicly criticized Crowley for making the public announcement while the fires were still raging through Pacific Palisades. 

The former fire chief also counted on the support of many LAFD firefighters who spoke in favor of her leadership skills and decisions.

Former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva is currently serving as interim Fire Chief, as the search for someone to fill the position begins.