Overview
- Chief Jaime Moore acknowledged earlier drafts of the after-action report were softened before release but said he will not seek who made the edits and pledged such changes will not occur under his leadership.
- Moore said former interim Chief Ronnie Villanueva was responsible for publishing the report, while the report’s author, Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, declined to endorse the final version after key findings were altered.
- An internal Professional Standards Division inquiry is underway into the Lachman incident, and Moore requested the Fire Safety Research Institute include that fire in its statewide review as the City Council moves to hire an outside examiner.
- Moore said he has seen no indication that crews warned incident command about lingering hot spots at the Lachman site and noted the on-duty battalion chief denies receiving such alerts, with potential discipline possible if evidence shows otherwise.
- Operational changes include recommending drones with thermal imaging for fires over one acre, revising red-flag pre-deployment and recall procedures, enhancing evacuation coordination, and addressing about 100 unfilled firefighter positions.