Testimony given by some Los Angeles firefighters who were on the scene of the Lachman Fire was highly critical of command staff and city leadership.
The videos were obtained by KNX News Special Correspondent Steve Gregory and show firefighters sitting for depositions with attorneys. These took place in late January as part of lawsuits filed by fire victims against the city regarding who was responsible for clean-up efforts and patrolling the burn areas following the Lachman Fire.
L.A. Fire Captain Tommy Kitahata said that he was at the Lachman Fire, and he remembered speaking with state and state park officials, including John Ota with California State Parks, someone who Gregory reports has become a key figure in which agency knew what and when about the Lachman Fire.
Kitahata also said he heard Ota tell LAFD Chief Martin Mullen that state park employees would be patrolling the Lachman Fire after LAFD was finished.
When Ota was asked by an attorney about those patrols, he said he never returned to the scene of the fire after January 1st, 2025.
Firefighter Scott Pike said in his testimony that while he was picking up hoses the day after the fire, he knew there were still hot spots that needed attention.
“I saw light smoke on the ground,” he said. “I saw branches that were smoking still, and I could smell smoke and there were, I would say, several smokers in that immediate area. I'd say there was like a handful, like five, but that's a lot to me. It's just an indicator that stuff's still hot.”
Pike said something about the situation didn’t sit well with him, and that he tried to tell his fellow firefighters and his captain, but no one listened to him.
“I felt like I got kind of blown off a little bit, and I haven't seen anybody step up and take responsibility,” he said. “None of my leaders, none of the city leaders, nobody.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told KNX News’ Craig Fiegener she heard the testimony from the firefighter who said he tried to tell his captain that the Lachman Fire was still smoldering.
“Well, I definitely thought it was very alarming, but it really just reinforced my desire as well as the chief's to get the independent investigation…and we know that it's underway,” she said. “And that is the Fire Research Institute, that's the independent investigator that Governor Newsom had employed to look at the fire overall, but remember, they were focusing on January 7th. But the chief ordered them to go back and include the Lachman Fire, and so I will look forward to their independent analysis.”
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