Fact check: An LAFD chief acknowledged that she couldn't carry a man out of a fire and that it was his fault for being in that situation.

1. Summary of the results

The original statement contains several inaccuracies that need to be corrected:

• The statement incorrectly attributes the quote to an "LAFD chief" when it was specifically made by LAFD Assistant Chief Kristine Larson, not Chief Kristin Crowley ^{[1] [2]}
• The exact quote was "He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire" ^[3]
• The comment was made in the context of defending the department's diversity and inclusion hiring practices, not as a standalone statement about rescue capabilities ^[2]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements are missing from the original statement:

• The comment was made during a period of significant wildfires in Los Angeles ^[2]
• The LAFD has specific physical fitness and testing requirements for all firefighters ^[4]
• The nature of firefighting is inherently physically demanding, regardless of who performs it ^[5]
• The discussion was part of a broader debate about diversity and inclusion in firefighter recruitment, not about individual rescue capabilities ^[2]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement appears to be potentially misleading in several ways:

• It removes crucial context about the DEI discussion that prompted the comment ^[2]
• It conflates two different LAFD leaders (Crowley and Larson), potentially creating confusion about leadership accountability ^{[1] [2]}
• The statement presents the quote in isolation, making it appear more controversial than it may have been within its original context of discussing departmental policies and practices ^[2]

The controversy appears to be part of a larger debate about diversity in firefighting, where:

• Those opposing DEI initiatives might benefit from presenting such statements as evidence against diversity hiring
• Those supporting DEI initiatives might argue that focusing on individual physical capabilities misses the broader benefits of diverse emergency response teams