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Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Christine Crowley Says the city of Los Angeles has failed its more than 100,000 displaced residents who were forced to evacuate from the ongoing wildfire siege.
When asked by Fox News affiliate KTTV if the city of Los Angeles and its Mayor Karen Bass had failed the city, Crowley responded: “Yes.”
When fires began to sweep through Los Angeles, critical staffing shortages impacted the department’s response time, Crowley said.
“Any budget cuts will impact our ability to provide services,” she said. “That’s the basic truth about our capabilities. If there are budget cuts, we have to pull funding from somewhere else. What does that mean? This thing is not getting done, or there are delays.”
Los Angeles Fire Department sounds alarm as budget cuts impact wildfire response: Memo
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley speaks during a news conference at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in West Carson, Los Angeles, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (Richard Vogel/AP)
Crowley said staff shortages and lack of resources have been a pressing issue Facing the department Over the years. She pointed to a series of memos she sent to the city detailing the department’s needs.
“From day one we identified huge gaps in our service delivery and the ability of firefighters on the ground to do their job,” she said. “This is my third budget going into 2025-2026 and I can “What I’m telling you is we’re still understaffed, underresourced, underfunded.”
When asked about the budget cuts, which slashed $17,553,814 from $837,191,237 to $819,637,423, Crowley said it “really impacts our ability to provide services.”
“Normally our firefighters receive over 1,500 calls and they Transported 650 patients One day — let alone the last three days we’ve been through,” she said.
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Crowley told local media that the issues facing the fire department are “not a new one.”
“Since 2010, our firefighters are responding to double the number of calls today, a 55 percent increase, but with 68 fewer people. Full transparency. This is not a new issue for us,” she said. “Since I’ve held this seat for three years, I’ve sounded the alarm that we need more.”
We are desperate for proper funding to ensure our firefighters can do their jobs…
“This is no longer sustainable. So we are now able to receive appropriate funding“We are desperate to get the proper funding to ensure our firefighters can do their jobs so we can serve our communities,” she said. “
A firefighter fights a fire during the Eaton Fire on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, California. (Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Crowley said the department had identified gaps in services and made recommendations to the city.
“We know we need 62 new fire stations. We need to double the number of firefighters. The city has doubled in growth since 1960 and we have fewer fire stations,” she said.
Photo Gallery: Fence Fire Before and After
“So when you talk about sounding the alarm and asking and requesting a budget that is easily justified based on data, real data that shows what the fire department needs to serve this beautiful city and this beautiful community, we vow that we will do that .This is what it is,” she said.
“None of us in the fire department are politicians,” Crowley said from the heart.
“Firefighters serve them first. Again, none of us in the fire department are politicians. We are civil servants First,” she said. “We take an oath to serve the public in front of ourselves and even our families. “
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“So, I want to focus on the path forward. I want to focus on the needs of the Los Angeles Fire Department,” Crowley said. “What our people need to do is make sure we save lives and protect property to the best of our ability.”
“But we need proper funding,” she said. “That’s where my head is.”
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
