Longtime LAFD leader selected to head a department recuperating after LA firestorm

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on Friday announced that after an extensive nationwide search, the new leader of the Los Angeles Fire Department would be coming from within its own ranks.

Deputy Chief Jaime Moore, a 30-year LAFD veteran, was selected to be the city's new fire chief at a time when the department is working to address shortfalls listed in a damning after-action report on the response to the deadly Palisades Fire. As part of the search, Bass interviewed fire chiefs from major cities and toured LAFD stations asking crews what they were looking for in a new leader.

Bass confirmed the selection at a news conference Friday afternoon, saying Moore had been informed of his appointment just hours earlier and that a start date had yet to be worked out.

"Chief Moore is a proven and admired firefighter," she said. " Our work together will focus on reforming the LAFD to better prepare Los Angeles for major emergencies and the upcoming major events coming to our region."

Moore has worked in varying capacities for the Los Angles Fire Department since 1995. His current role, which he's held since June 2023, is as the commander of operations for the department's Valley bureau.

Jamie Moore.

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LAFD

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During the news conference announcing his appointment, Moore said his priorities include ensuring the department has adequate resources to prepare for major disasters and upcoming mega events and augmenting its capabilities with increased "innovation, technology and use of data."

“We need a city that is prepared for the next emergency,” Moore said, adding that the department will reinforce existing resources and leverage public-private partnerships. “We’ll find innovative ways to fund things, so we are able to do the things that we need to do”

In the more than 30 years that he's been with the department, Moore has led the department's Arson and Counter Terrorism section, worked as a public information officer and was the commander of FireStat, a unit focused on improving "organizational performance and accountability through data-driven insights."

Moore grew up in Venice and Mar Vista. His mother is an immigrant from Guadalajara, Mexico. According to his bio on the department's website, Moore speaks English and Spanish and "is proud of his Hispanic heritage and the diverse perspectives it has provided him."

Before being assigned to the Valley Bureau, Moore opened the department's Equity and Human Resources Bureau.

Moore takes over a department reeling from an after-action report on the Palisades Fire that detailed the failures and challenges the department faced and the ways its response was lacking, including shortcoming in preparation, communication breakdowns that endangered lives and understaffing.

Bass said she has discussed with Moore the need to look at the after action report and “see what else is needed.”

There also has been public sparring between LAFD union leaders and Bass over department funding levels, which exploded in the days after the Palisades Fire when then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said more funding was needed for more personnel and equipment. Bass ultimately ousted Crowley out of her position, and in May, the Los Angeles City Council denied an appeal to reinstate her.