Internal Docs Show 2 of LA Fire Dept’s Top 3 Goals Were DEI, While Disaster Recovery Ranked Dead Last
In California, firefighters are facing severe challenges as they combat multiple wildfires that have resulted in the destruction of thousands of homes and forced over 100,000 residents to evacuate. A recent analysis by Christopher Rufo highlights that the Los Angeles fire Department (LAFD) has prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives over traditional firefighting skills. According to the department’s Strategic Plan for 2023-2026, while public safety is listed as a primary goal, it appears to be overshadowed by efforts to create a progressive work habitat focused on DEI.
Rufo points out that goals such as technological advancements and disaster recovery have been deprioritized, with the latter ranked last among the seven strategic objectives. Tactics include ongoing DEI training for all employees and the establishment of committees to ensure diverse stakeholder depiction. Critics argue that these initiatives detract from essential firefighting competencies, perhaps undermining team cohesion and effectiveness in emergency responses.
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, identified as the first female and LGBTQ chief in the department’s history, emphasizes the importance of fostering a culture valuing diversity and inclusion. However, the urgent needs of communities affected by the wildfires raise questions about whether the department’s focus on DEI aligns with operational effectiveness and public safety expectations. This situation serves as a notable example of the challenges faced by institutions that prioritize DEI at the expense of traditional performance metrics.
As California firefighters struggle to control multiple wildfires destroying thousands of homes and forcing more than 100,000 to flee, more information is coming to light about the priorities of Los Angeles Fire Department.
In particular, the city’s department seems to have emphasized the skin color and sexual preferences of firefighters rather than whether those firefighters were skilled at, you know, putting out fires.
Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo revealed on Thursday that the LAFD authorities, in the department’s “Strategic Plan 2023-2026,” have seven stated goals for the organization.
The first is delivering “exceptional public safety and emergency services.” The second and third are promoting a “progressive work environment” and committing to “an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The LA Fire Department’s strategic plan made “DEI” and a “progressive work environment” two of their top three priorities—regarding them as more important than “technological innovations” and “disaster recovery capabilities,” which it ranked last. pic.twitter.com/6b6SdPUePC
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 9, 2025
But the first most certainly took a back seat to the second and third, as Los Angeles is now learning the hard way.
By the way, “disaster recovery” ranked dead last among those seven goals.
To achieve those goals, the described strategies and tactics, which are perhaps even more revealing.
Those tactics, just to name a few, include offering “DEI education to all members on a recurring basis,” launching a “Work Environment Committee with diverse stakeholder voices,” training “all supervisors to be change agents who model inclusive behavior,” and examining “whether alternative schedule options would accommodate a broader pool of employees.”
Perhaps the LAFD has not yet realized that making staff members sit through constant racial struggle sessions does not improve its members’ ability to fight fires.
If anything, doubling down on wokeness at every turn reduces team cohesion while distracting from the mission at hand.
The actual priorities of the LAFD are evident at the highest levels of the department.
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is prominently described on the agency website as the “first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief in the LAFD,” as revealed by Libs of TikTok on Wednesday.
Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority.
Does this make you feel safer? pic.twitter.com/9PG9bUmYCY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 8, 2025
Crowley’s biography on the site said that her “priorities” include “creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities.”
Once more, clearly one has superseded the other.
Ask any of those “communities” watching in horror as their homes burn to a crisp whether their expectations have been met, let alone exceeded.
Over the past decade, and especially over the past four or five years, the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement was forced into seemingly every institution in our nation.
But without fail, those priorities take a front seat in the institutions they conquer, while merit, excellence, innovation, and competence take a back seat.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is merely the latest and most tragic example.
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