Quotes
On behalf of the firefighters I represent, I am here to say we are outraged at the termination of fire Chief Crowley, period. In our opinion, Chief Crowley is being made a scapegoat, and she is being terminated for telling the truth."
According to KCAL he said
Chief Crowley is a strong leader who has the respect of our firefighters and wasn't afraid to tell the truth. She's being made a scapegoat from a devastating fire without the benefit of a full investigation into what actually happened...Our firefighters and paramedics stand united on this issue. Terminating Chief Crowley was wrong."
In a statement posted on Facebook the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City said
It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass has decided to fire Chief Kristin Crowley. Chief Crowley served Los Angeles well and spoke honestly about the severe and profoundly ill-conceived budget cuts the Bass administration made to the LAFD."
In a post on X billionaire property developer Rick Caruso, who Bass beat in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election, said
I was here in Los Angeles when they did the recall. We had more members willing to participate than we had seats to put those members in."
Referring to Bass' claimStay safe, LA!"
she breezily posts, as she sips champagne at the embassy cocktail party in Accra
The buck stops with me."
Bass has the nerve to sayThere is an expected destructive and potentially life-threatening windstorm starting Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon. Red Flag No Parking Restrictions will go into effect in certain areas tomorrow morning. Stay safe LA!"
Even from there, on January 6th, she posted on XI have had the honor of calling Chief Ronnie Villanueva a friend and fire service partner for over a decade,
O'Brien said
He is respected, and he is ready to hit the ground running
Bass saidFollowing Mayor Bass' removal of Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief, the Mayor's Office was informed that she
the office explainedOur relationship is not working out.
Bass strutted into Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley's office with two lawyers in tow and announcedLos Angeles needs to move forward. This is a new day,
she told reporters at City Hall
The reality is our fire department has been understaffed and under-resourced for years — including during Mayor Bass’ time in office,
the union saidThe LAFD did have operational budget cuts in this fiscal year, including cuts to overtime, brush clearance and civilian positions. In fact, we still have nearly 100 broken down fire engines, trucks and ambulances in the maintenance yard because of civilian mechanic job cuts. This is a city that has neglected its fire department,
the statement said
This is her first major challenge and she is going to be judged on it, and that could be good or bad,
longtime Democratic consultant Bill Carrick said
She has my cellphone. She knows she can call me 24/7,
Bass saidThe business of the fire department and the city will continue” while the search for a permanent replacement is underway
she saidWe 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,
the mayor said in a statement
Because, honest and truly, if I had all of the information that I needed to have, the last thing I would have done was to be out of town,
she told KABCBefore other major weather emergencies, the mayor — or at minimum, the mayor's chief of staff — has received a direct call from the fire chief, flagging the severity of the situation,
a spokesperson for the mayor's office told The Times