By NICK POPE | DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) committed significant resources to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives before the outbreak of massive fires that devastated the Los Angeles area overnight.
The LAFD has implemented an internal “racial equity plan,” subjected employees to diversity training and is currently led by Chief Kristin Crowley, “the first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief in the LAFD” and a staunch supporter of the initiatives. As strong winds fed the wildfires on Tuesday evening, former Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso reported that some fire hydrants were running low on water as the department scrambled to mobilize firefighters.
The department’s racial equity plan, adopted in 2021, asserts that the LAFD is a better firefighting organization for focusing on the demographic characteristics of its personnel.
“The strength of any organization rests in its greatest resource—its people; and LAFD leadership cannot accomplish any of the racial equity and inclusion goals without the employees to accomplish the work and embrace the vision while being guided by competent leadership,” the LAFD racial equity plan states. “It has been concluded and realized that the more talent, skills, perspectives, insight, knowledge, and abilities acquired through racial equity and inclusion, the stronger and more effective and competitive the organization has become.”
The LAFD evidently did not have adequate personnel on hand to mount an immediate and sufficient response to the devastating fires, indicated by the rare Tuesday night call to off-duty firefighters to report their availability. Some forecasts, including those issued by the National Interagency Fire Center and the California Office for Emergency Services, warned that Southern California was at high risk for serious fires before Tuesday’s events.
In a brief with the news media Wednesday morning, officials said that the fires have claimed more than 1,000 buildings and caused serious injuries for civilians who did not evacuate hard-hit areas in time.
Shortly after taking over the top job at LAFD in 2022, Crowley made clear in a local news segment that one of her top priorities would be increasing the department’s diversity. In the interview, she suggested she does not look to meet specific demographic quotas in the department because there is “never enough” diversity.
Los Angeles County also posted an October 2024 video touting a one-day DEI planning event hosted by the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, during which county leaders worked on ideas and plans to “realize a just and equitable LA County for all residents and all communities.” An official county website detailing its work with the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative states that the county “seeks to end structural racism and its consequences by working closely with all County departments, commissions, agencies, and advisory bodies to collaborate with all cities, unincorporated communities, school districts, state and federal agencies, community-based organizations, philanthropy and academic institutions.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fires were still out of control, consuming thousands of acres of land with the help of powerful wind gusts that have yet to subside.
The LAFD did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Wow that’s reassuring. And this from a couple days ago….You can make this stuff up. But then you find that you just were guessing how bad it was and reality shows it to be so much worse…..
‘https://babylonbee.com/news/fbi-assures-nation-it-will-put-its-most-diverse-agents-on-terror-case
Trading success for failure is the Progressive’s mantra. It is part of the Progressive faith. Human sacrifice, if we trade success for failure, Nirvana becomes our glory. These religious fanatics believe ritual human sacrifice will lift failure from the pit of despair. The church believes failure just needs a chance. And that opportunity is paid for by success. And we know what happens. Success takes a 2nd job, and failure stays home playing video games and masturbating. It is the circle of life.
You get what you vote for! And(!!!), the consequential results!
Alaskans (Anchoragites) had better learn from this too!
Wow. This article is just wow. Instead of just plainly blaming the chief and LAFD, it went ahead and said that because the chief is gay and a woman the fires were inevitable.
Just go ahead and blame the poor planning of the LAFD and the chief. That’s it. Nobody cares about what someone does behind closed doors.
This is not journalism.
Proper firefighting STARTS with planning for, and preventing fires. Something is equity hire obviously did not do.
People SHOULD care when “what someone does behind closed doors” is used as a qualification for hiring a position, which if performed poorly (the job position not various bedroom positions), has such monumental consequences….
Anchorage is making all the same mistakes for the same reasons. People voting union hoping for an extra .5% benefit package increase are going to deliver us rolling blackouts and water shortages when our dumbass assembly dismantles Eklutna hydro.
DEI is a cancer that infects and slowly kills every organization in which it is implemented. It takes longer, much longer, in government because the funding is nearly inexhaustible. At least in the private sector, the death of the company is swift. As it should be. The sooner America ditches this racist DEI, the better off we will all be.
DEI = Didn’t Earn It
Excellent!!!
Unfortunate and irresponsible journalism. The LA area has recieved a quarter inch of rain in 9 months and they are getting hurricane force winds. You could have the biggest alpha male in charge and the outcome would have been the same. You can’t possibly plan for these conditions.