Kristin Crowley

Introduction

Kristin Crowley is an American firefighter who served as the 19th Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department from March 25, 2022, until February 21, 2025, when Mayor Karen Bass removed her in the aftermath of the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire. She did not leave the fire service: Crowley remains with the LAFD as an assistant chief in the Valley Bureau, and she has taken the city to court over her ouster. Her firing capped a career that climbed through nearly every rank of the department and turned a dispute over budgets and staffing into a public and legal fight.

Background Information

Kristin M. Crowley was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She passed the firefighters’ exam in 1998, finishing in the top 50 out of more than 16,000 tests taken, and joined the LAFD in 2000. She held the roles of firefighter, paramedic, engineer, fire inspector, captain, battalion chief, assistant chief, fire marshal and deputy chief, and in 2016 she became Los Angeles’ first female fire marshal. She was named Fire Chief in 2022, replacing Ralph Terrazas, who had held the role since 2014. Upon her appointment, Crowley noted that in addition to “maintaining firefighters’ safety, health and overall well-being”, she planned to promote a “work environment that is free of harassment, discrimination and hazing”. As chief, she encouraged programs that increased diversity in the department, saying that a diverse department was needed to serve a diverse city. In 2023 she was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the second fire chief to serve in that role, and in June 2024 she was a grand marshal at Los Angeles Pride. She oversaw the department’s response to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Crowley is married, has three children and is part of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The mayor’s stated reasons for removing Kristin Crowley are her own accusations, which Crowley disputes in two pending lawsuits; the retaliation and defamation claims have not been adjudicated — the city is moving to dismiss the first suit. Nothing on this page should be read as a court finding for either side.

The fire at the center of the decision was catastrophic: the Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres, killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures. On February 21, 2025, Mayor Karen Bass fired Crowley, claiming that Crowley had left the department unprepared in advance of the outbreak of the fire. Bass accused Crowley of leadership failures during the January 2025 windstorm that led to the fire, and of refusing to prepare an after-action report on the firefight. The mayor also accused Crowley of failing to deploy 1,000 firefighters who “could have been on duty” the morning the fire erupted. Bass contended in interviews that Crowley failed to inform her of the fire danger posed by forecasted Santa Ana winds — warnings that the National Weather Service and media reports had publicized for days in advance — and Bass, who was in Ghana during the fires, linked this to Crowley’s having failed to warn her, although Crowley has pushed back on this.

Public Reaction and Consequences

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. In 2025, Crowley appealed her removal as chief to the City Council, but the council stood behind Bass, rejecting the appeal in a 13-2 vote. She was succeeded as chief by Ronnie Villanueva on an interim basis.

Current Status

Crowley’s removal is now the subject of two lawsuits. In her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed Feb. 20, 2026, she alleges retaliation in violation of the Labor Code and retaliation in violation of the state Constitution. In court papers filed Friday with Judge Kristin S. Escalante in advance of a Dec. 11 hearing, the city’s attorneys deny that Crowley was a whistleblower as her suit contends and ask that the case be dismissed. “(Crowley) has not stated a free-speech claim,” the attorneys state, arguing that by plaintiff’s own account she held a high-level policymaking position requiring her to exercise substantial authority over matters of public safety. Because Crowley held the position of chief, the city’s lawyers contend, the city is permitted to take her speech into account in deciding to remove her without violating the state constitution; it adds that she neither disclosed a violation of law nor refused to participate in unlawful activity, and that her advocacy for the LAFD and disagreements with the mayor are not legal violations. In June 2026, Crowley filed a second lawsuit against Bass, this time for defamation. In response to the first suit, Bass’ senior adviser Yusef Robb issued a statement: “There is nothing new here. Ms. Crowley was removed from her post for her failure to deploy in advance and her decision to send 1,000 firefighters home instead of keeping them on duty on the morning the fires broke out. This lawsuit has no merit.”

Impact on Their Career/Life

Crowley’s lawsuit lays blame for the fire at the feet of the mayor and city leaders. It claims the city historically failed to properly fund the LAFD, leaving the agency under-manned and backlogged in the maintenance of vehicles and other equipment, and contends that Crowley submitted “numerous detailed reports” annually to city leaders, including Bass, complaining of aging infrastructure, shrinking staff and rising emergency calls that demanded attention. “Crowley brings this case based on the actions of Mayor Karen Bass, who orchestrated a campaign of retaliation to conceal the extent to which Bass undermined public safety and transparency,” according to the lawsuit, which alleges: “Despite these warnings, and despite Crowley’s request for an increased budget to address these issues, Mayor Bass and her administration cut the LAFD’s operating budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 by $17.6 million and eliminated positions critical to maintaining fire engines, trucks, and ambulances” . The suit also criticizes Bass’ decision to leave the country before the severe Santa Ana wind event for a diplomatic trip to Ghana taken without notifying Crowley. The practical consequences are already fixed: the city’s first female fire marshal and 19th chief now serves the department she led as an assistant chief in the Valley Bureau, while the courts weigh whether her removal was the retaliation her lawsuits describe.