LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Mayor Karen Bass fired Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley Friday, foisting blame on her for what she called failures in leadership stemming from the January windstorm that led to the deadly wildfire that ravaged Pacific Palisades.
Bass appointed former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran as interim fire chief.
Bass was scheduled to hold a late-morning news conference to discuss her decision. In her announcement, the mayor said she fired Crowley “in the best interests” of L.A.’s public safety and the operations of the L.A. Fire Department.
The move came after recent interviews in which Bass blamed Crowley for not informing her of the extreme winds and dangerous fire conditions that resulted in the devastating Palisades Fire on Jan. 7. Those interviews also highlighted tensions between Bass and Crowley, as well as challenges with County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and other officials leading efforts to recover from the fire emergencies.
“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,” Bass said in a statement.
“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,” she added. “The Chief (Crowley) refused. These require her removal.”
She added that bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what “our city needs.”
Villanueva is expected to lead the LAFD while the mayor’s office leads a national search and engages with residents to what they’d like in their next fire chief.
The interim chief retired seven months ago, but he is ready to hit the ground running, according to Bass’ office.
Villanueva retired from the Fire Department as chief deputy of emergency operations, and has decades of experience in fire suppression, emergency management, and the management of thousands of operational and support members of the LAFD in various positions at the department.
Before becoming a chief officer, Villanueva spent 24 years in the field at active assignments.
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