PERSON: Kristin Crowley

Assistant Chief for the Operations Valley Bureau

Kristin M. Crowley is an American who was a firefighter and the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) from 2022 to 2025.

Crowley passed the firefighters’ exam in 1998, finishing in the top 50 out of more than 16,000 tests taken. She joined the LAFD in 2000. During her time at the department, she has held the roles of firefighter, paramedic, engineer, fire inspector, captain, battalion chief, assistant chief, fire marshal and deputy chief. Crowley became Los Angeles’ first female fire marshal in 2016.

On February 21, 2025, Mayor Karen Bass fired Crowley, claiming that Crowley had left the department unprepared in advance of the outbreak of the Palisades Fire. Bass was in Ghana during the fires, which she linked to Crowley’s having failed to warn her of the fire danger, although Crowley has pushed back on this. The decision to fire Crowley was criticized by many, including philanthropist and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, who alongside various media outlets linked the firing to Crowley speaking out about fire department budget cuts

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