L.A. Fire Dept. Personnel Issues

I’d like to take this opportunity to respond to editorials discussing Fire Department personnel issues (Nov. 19 and 26). While I am the first to acknowledge that there may be individual activities within our department of 3,600 employees that I neither condone nor endorse, I must re-emphasize my commitment to the men and women of this department and to the citizens of Los Angeles. They can rest assured that in the Los Angeles Fire Department public safety comes first.

The Nov. 19 editorial was correct in stating I am caught in the cross fire. My responsibility is to chart a course, with input from interested individuals and groups, that balances the opportunities for interested candidates representative of our rich cultural diversity, with the necessary standards of physical strength, courage and the ability to think and function in emergency situations.

During my tenure as fire chief, I am proud to be presiding over significant improvements in the numbers of firefighters representing Los Angeles’ different ethnic groups and a substantial increase in the number of women firefighters (the LAFD employs more female firefighters than any other fire department in the nation). I welcome the opportunity to exchange ideas and productive dialogue with community leaders and to further improve an atmosphere within the department that allows the opportunity for advancement and enhanced training for everyone. To that end I have submitted a proposed Human Resources Reorganization Plan to the Fire Commission and we have begun the dialogue that I am confident will result in further improvements in Fire Department personnel management.

As we move forward, we must never lose sight of the fact that our firefighters have pledged to put their lives on the line for the citizens of our great city. More often than not, their work goes unrecognized. I want them to know that I accept the responsibility for any criticism the department receives, and I am proud to have the privilege to serve as the chief of the department that has been recognized as the finest in the nation, and perhaps the world--I will not jeopardize that.

DONALD O. MANNING

Chief Engineer and General Manager

LAFD