Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles removed the city’s fire chief from her position on Friday, holding her accountable for what she described as inadequate leadership in responding to the deadly fires that ravaged parts of the city in January.
Citing mismanagement of the deadly fires that engulfed parts of Los Angeles in January, Mayor Karen Bass on Friday announced the removal of the city’s fire chief, attributing the decision to a lack of decisive leadership.
“Acting in the best interest of Los Angeles public safety and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I just met with Chief Crowley and removed her as fire chief,” Bass told reporters.
In response to mounting concerns, the mayor has initiated an in-depth investigation into all the factors that led to the fires breaking out on January 7.
“A necessary step to the investigation was the president of the fire commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after-action report on the fires. The fire chief refused,” Bass said.
“We all know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch. These actions required her removal.”
Read also: Investigation Underway: Feds Examine Deadly Los Angeles Fires
Tensions had flared between the two officials even as flames raged in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods.
There was sharp criticism over the firefight, particularly in the tony Pacific Palisades area, where hydrants ran dry because of huge demands on the system.
Just days after the wind-driven fires broke out, Crowley blindsided city bosses by telling a local television interviewer that Los Angeles had failed her department, which she described as understaffed and underfunded.
“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded,” Crowley told the local Fox television channel. “It’s not.”
An appearance on national TV compounded the rift when she told CNN that budget cuts had directly affected her ability to fight the mammoth fires.
Hours later, Bass hauled Crowley in for a closed-door meeting that ran so late Bass missed a scheduled news briefing.
The next time the two stood together at a press conference, tensions were evident, despite pledges that they were on the same page.
