Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has been removed from her position by Mayor Karen Bass.
“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief,” Bass said in a statement. “We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch. Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal. The heroism of our firefighters – during the Palisades fire and every single day – is without question. Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs.”
“While the Department is in the experienced and expert hands of Chief Villanueva, my office will lead a national search and I will speak directly with firefighters and Angelenos about what they want to see in their next permanent chief,” Bass added.
Ronnie Villanueva has been a part of the Los Angeles Fire Department for 41 years. Villanueva had been retired for 7 months.
In a statement on X, Bass said, “Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief.”
“1,000 firefighters were sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch the day the fires broke out,” she wrote. “Chief Crowley refused to do an after action report on the fires.”
