As one firefighter after another testified about their actions during the Lachman fire, a clear theme emerged – the Los Angeles Fire Department’s culture of absolute obedience.
One told the owner about red hot coals and smoldering ashes. Another warned that hot weather increased the risk of flare-ups. After taking his concerns to superiors, he gave up – it was not his job to decide when to pack his pipes and when to abandon a fire that had been mostly extinguished.
A few days later, that fire erupted again into the Palisades Fire, destroying thousands of homes and killing a dozen people.
“If I had been more vocal, I probably could have stopped a lot of things, right?” Firefighter Scott Pike testified in a lawsuit brought by Palisades fire victims. “But that’s not the right thing to do. The Captain doesn’t want to hear this.”
Pike’s attitude reflects deep-rooted norms within the LAFD that one should not question orders – or push back against higher authorities when something feels wrong, or even dangerous – because doing so could invite retaliation. Several current and former firefighters told The Times that it is often easier to keep your mouth shut than deal with the consequences of speaking out.
Similar to law enforcement, fire departments are paramilitary organizations that handle fast-moving, life-and-death emergencies where there is often no time for debate.
Additionally, firefighters typically work 24-hour shifts and live with their crews at the station, cooking, eating, sleeping, and exercising together. Being ostracized doesn’t just mean losing the camaraderie of coworkers—it’s losing a family.
Former New York City Fire Department Chief Laura Kavanaugh said the culture of silence within the LAFD is common in fire departments across the country.
“They become like your second family. And so I think that loyalty is huge,” Kavanaugh said. “Staying out can be really detrimental to someone’s career, but also to their health and ability to live in the community.”
For those who don’t stay quiet, retaliation from bosses can come in the form of “highway therapy,” he said — when firefighters are reassigned to a station far from home. They may be passed over for promotion or labeled as a troublemaker.
Sharon Delugach, who recently stepped down after nearly three years as Los Angeles Fire Commissioner, said changing the culture of the LAFD leads to better training for those in charge.
“The captain needs to behave respectfully, which may include an understanding that asking questions is not automatically disrespectful,” he said. “I think the culture can be changed through training and accountability.”
LAFD spokeswoman Stephanie Bishop said last week that retaliating against firefighters who report misconduct or refuse unlawful orders is prohibited by department policy and California law.
When Fire Chief Jamie Moore took the job less than six months ago, he made it clear that “fostering a culture where every member of the Los Angeles Fire Department feels respected and supported is a top priority,” Bishop said in an email in response to questions about firefighters’ fear of speaking out.
“This won’t happen overnight, and our personnel understand that,” she added. “A comprehensive review of the department’s policies and procedures is underway. LAFD leadership is committed to doing the work and bringing about lasting change.”
Doug Coats, acting president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the union representing the LAFD rank and file, declined to comment.
one in 2022 audit into internal sexual harassment investigation, The LAFD’s top watchdog found that firefighters were discouraged from reporting misconduct and encouraged by supervisors and others to withhold information during investigative interviews. An audit by the Office of the Independent Assessor said some were told to keep problems “in house” rather than reporting them to supervisors.
According to the audit, a probationary firefighter said that before an interview with internal investigators several coworkers advised him, “‘Pray the fifth one, this doesn’t involve you.'” “‘And when answering investigators’ questions, say you can’t remember.'”
According to the audit, the probationary firefighter — who is white — said he witnessed crews mistreat a Black female firefighter based on her race and gender. He said he wanted to leave the department because “these people are the most racist people I have ever met.”
Female and minority firefighters have long complained about a persistent “frat house” culture in which coworkers bully and harass them.
But former firefighters union president Capt. Freddy Escobar, who was suspended by the union’s parent organization for missing receipts, said the family culture at firefighters fosters an open-door environment. He has denied the allegations.
“You have to take care of each other,” he said. “Just like at home, you feel comfortable walking into the front office.”
Kavanaugh estimated that fire departments are about two decades behind law enforcement agencies in terms of reforms, largely because police are subject to much greater public scrutiny and are more rigorously monitored due to their frequent use of lethal force.
He said, “The fire service is absolutely complicit. It’s such a brotherhood, and there is no investigation.” “The disadvantages of speaking out are so great that I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to do it.”
He added, “It’s important that we find a way to get our point across.”
Connie Rice is a longtime civil rights attorney whose work largely targets an equitable culture within the Los Angeles Police Department. He said LAFD firefighters have told him the code of silence exists because complaining about leadership can be career-ending.
“The LAFD is a messenger-killing cult,” Rice said. In terms of breaking the code of silence, “it is easier to overcome the police than the firefighters,” he said.
The paramilitary command structure that allows orders to be quickly executed during a fire or other emergency also reinforces respect for rank, said a retired LAFD battalion chief, who asked not to be identified because he still has family in the department.
“There’s a hierarchy, and the more time you spend, the less you expect people to question you,” he said. “Most firefighters, until they’ve got 10, 15, 20 years, they’re not going to go up against a captain or chief.”
“There is something of a comeback in our culture,” he said. “They hold a grudge.”
LAFD rules and regulations state that members shall not exceed their authority in giving orders “under any circumstances” and are protected from punishment if they follow unreasonable orders. The National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Incident Response Pocket Guide, another set of guidelines followed by the LAFD, states that firefighters are obligated to report safety issues and that supervisors are “expected to seriously consider these concerns and ideas.”
The guide does provide instructions on how to decline an assignment if a firefighter feels unsafe, though the retired battalion chief said it would be a stretch to apply those instructions to a mop-up scenario like the Lachman Fire, where there is no immediate danger.
“The main thing is, if he says we’re going, you’re going,” the former battalion chief said of Lachman Fire’s supervisors.
But where does that leave firefighters?
“To be honest, I would never bring anything forward,” said an LAFD firefighter who said superiors targeted him after speaking out against unethical billing practices for fire inspections. “Good, bad or indifferent. Whatever I said on behalf of the public… it troubled me.”
The firefighter – who was not involved in the Lachman fire – asked to remain anonymous because he feared retaliation.
Former Fire Commissioner Jimmy Woods-Gray, who stepped down last month, said fear of retaliation prevents firefighters from reporting racial or sexual harassment and other bad behavior.
“They don’t just think they will be retaliated against – they will be retaliated against,” he said.
Arson investigator Robert McCloud, who recently lost a retaliation and racial discrimination lawsuit against the city, said that in the LAFD, wrongdoing is investigated in-house — and the consequences are often personal. He said his dissatisfaction with that system existed long before the outcome of his case, which he brought along with five other black arson investigators.
“If our kids played football together, I certainly wouldn’t mind,” he said. He later said: “If you don’t like me as a rookie, or you don’t like me as a firefighter, I’ve given you a hard time… It’s time for you to get revenge.”
In the lawsuit, arson investigators alleged that they were the targets of sham investigations, were denied promotions and other opportunities, and were subjected to excessive criticism and increased workload. A jury awarded damages of more than $600,000 to each of the two plaintiffs.
Cynthia Sato, another arson investigator, filed a lawsuit last year alleging she faced retaliation and gender discrimination after refusing the chief’s order to arrest an arson suspect without probable cause.
According to Sato’s lawsuit, the chief initiated a complaint against him for insubordination, and he was disciplined with a reprimand. In the lawsuit, she said her schedule was changed to avoid conflict with the chief, making it difficult for her to care for the child and preventing her from working overtime.
Neither Sato nor his lawyers responded to requests for comment.
Despite warnings from Pike that the fire was still smoldering, orders from above remained unchanged and according to testimony at the Palisades fire victims’ trial, crews continued packing their tubes into the Lachman burn scar on the morning of January 2, 2025. LAFD leaders have declined to say who made the decision to leave prematurely and why.
The people in charge that day avoided blame, while other firefighters testified that they did not question what they were assigned to do.
One firefighter testified, “I was told by my captain to take the hose, which is a normal task for us.” “I just listen to orders.”
Eventually, after expressing his concerns to three people, Pike decided he had gone too far and whatever happened next was not his responsibility.
He testified: “It is hard to go against the shield with the bow and be alone.”
Former Times staff writer Paul Pringle contributed to this report.
