Bass to Elevate Deputy Chief To Lead LA Fire Department

LOS ANGELES, CA — Mayor Karen Bass was expected Friday to name Los Angeles Fire Department Deputy Chief Jaime Moore as the new chief of the agency.

Bass scheduled an afternoon news conference to `make an announcement, without providing any details.

But she confirmed news of Moore's appointment as LAFD chief in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying Moore "is a proven and admired firefighter and executive who will urgently advance an agenda of reform to better prepare LA for major emergencies and upcoming world events, and to improve responses to 911 calls citywide."

Moore will replace Interim Chief Ronnie Villanueva, who came out of retirement to fill the post following Bass' firing of former Chief Kristin Crowley.

Crowley was ousted Feb. 21, questioning what she called the department's failure to pre-deploy about 1,000 firefighters the morning of Jan. 7, when a dramatic Santa Ana wind event sparked the deadly Palisades Fire that destroyed much of the upscale community. Bass also cited Crowley's alleged refusal to prepare an after-action report on the firefight -- an allegation Crowley has denied. The mayor also contended that Crowley had failed to give her a weather update prior to the historic windstorm as she had done for other potentially dangerous weather events, despite such warnings being widely publicized for several days prior to Jan. 7.

Crowley filed a damages claim against the city in August, alleging her firing was an act of retaliation for her public comments that the mayor's budget cuts and the city's alleged decades of neglect had left the LAFD under- funded, under-staffed and ill-equipped to handle the rising demands of a growing city.

Moore, currently the deputy chief in charge of the LAFD's Operations Valley Bureau, has been with the agency since 1995. He was born in Louisiana but raised in Los Angeles, graduating from Santa Monica High School and UCLA. He has a master's degree in public administration and emergency management from Cal State Long Beach.

Moore's appointment earned quick approval from United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the union that represents LAFD firefighters.

"United Firefighters of Los Angeles City looks forward to working with Jaime Moore as the next Fire Chief of the @LAFD," the union wrote in a statement on X. "The LAFD is the most understaffed and under-resourced fire department in the country and we need to ensure our firefighters and paramedics have the resources they need to serve the city of Los Angeles effectively. Throughout his career with the LAFD, Chief Moore has shown strong leadership and a deep commitment to the department. His background and experience within the ranks has demonstrated that he's the right leader at the right time to move the LAFD forward."

Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.