As the devastating wildfires ravage Southern California and Los Angeles, there has been renewed scrutiny of local and state leadership. One clip has circulated on X, calling out the comments of Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Kristine Larson, who seemingly blamed fire victims when addressing concerns about women serving as firefighters.
Off the bat, Larson appeared to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion over competence and whether a first responder is capable of mitigating a crisis. “You wanna see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it’s a medical call or a fire call that looks like you, it gives that person a little bit more ease, knowing that somebody might understand their situation better,” she said.
Considering women are generally smaller in stature and lack the upper body strength of men, concerns have risen about women being able to carry out the duties required of firefighters. “‘Is she strong enough to do this’?” Larson began acknowledging the fears, adding, “Or, ‘you couldn’t carry my husband out of a fire.'” Seemingly ignoring that firefighters are employed by taxpayers to save them from such situations, she said, “Which my response is he got himself in the wrong place, if I have to carry him out of a fire.”
The video concludes, flashing the text across the screen, “Only about 5% of working firefighters are women.” The clip has racked up millions of views, leading many to criticize the presence of DEI in critical fields such as first responders, particularly in the midst of the wildfire crisis. End Wokeness commented, “LAFD recently created a DEI Bureau, which she leads. $399k salary.”
Another user raised the important question, “Is this who you want responsible for saving you or one of your loved ones!? But remember, she doesn’t have to be qualified she just has to fit the DEI criteria!” Interpreting Larson’s statement, one person said, “Note to ALL of Los Angeles: LAFD Assistant Chief Larson thinks “You got yourself in the wrong place” This fire is all of your fault, basically. You shouldn’t be in your homes expecting to be safe. That’s just ludicrous!”
Similarly, another person criticized the implications of Larson’s comments, writing, “Yeah, sorry your husband got burned up and died horribly in a fire because I couldn’t carry him out. But It was HIS fault for “getting himself in the wrong place.” This person should’ve been fired immediately after making such a statement, but she’ll instead, get another promotion.”
Outlining another hypothetical scenario based on Larson’s comments, one person wrote, “Chief, there’s a man trapped in a burning building… can you get a squad down there asap to rescue him?” “Not my job. He got himself into the wrong place.” This is really the attitude among DEI hires? Yikes.” Another wrote, “So, it would leave someone who was trying to get out of a building to be burned alive after they succumbed to smoke inhalation and passed out. This is why I hate DEI policies. The only qualifications required are sexual preferences and minority status.”
Watch the clip below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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