Kristin Crowley will be LA’s first lesbian fire chief

03.03.2022 - 07:49 / qvoicenews.com

Kristin Crowley will be Los Angeles’ first lesbian fire chief and the department’s first LGBTQ leader. Crowley also will be the city’s first female fire chief. Photo: Los Angeles Fire Department.

Kristin Crowley will be Los Angeles’ first lesbian fire chief and the department’s first LGBTQ leader.

Crowley also will be the city’s first female fire chief.

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved Crowley’s appointment Tuesday. Mayor Eric Garcetti nominated her in late January after Ralph Terrazas announced his retirement.

Crowley is a 22-year department veteran who has risen through the ranks and is a deputy chief. Terrazas promoted her several times. The department has approximately 3,400 uniformed personnel and 106 fire stations serving about 4million people across 469 square miles.

Crowley will lead an agency that has come under fire for allegations of a culture of racism, sexism, retaliation, and abuse endured by women at the department.

On Tuesday, Crowley told the council that improving the work environment was among her priorities as chief.

“As the next fire chief, my priorities will be to ensure the LAFD stands ready and remains operationally efficient to serve our communities and this great city; that we enhance and support our firefighters’ safety, health and overall well-being; and that we promote and demand a work environment that is free of harassment, discrimination and hazing,” she said.

Crowley first made history within the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2016 when she became the city’s first female and first member of the LGBTQ community to be fire marshal.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center calls her appointment a “historic confirmation.”

“Congratulations, Chief Crowley!,” Executive Director Joe