The trial of the accused arsonist charged with igniting the destructive Pacific Palisades fire has ended with a hung jury. But, as always seems to be the case in situations like this, more allegations are coming to light. In the latest such case, an anonymous whistleblower, claiming to be a veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has leveled some serious claims of negligence and incompetence at the very highest levels of the LAFD.
An anonymous veteran Los Angeles City firefighter has stepped forward as a whistleblower, leveling damning accusations of negligence against department leadership following a federal mistrial.
The insider claims the fire department’s failure to follow standard safety protocols is directly responsible for allowing a contained blaze to reignite into the destructive Palisades Fire.
The whistleblower names some specifics:
Speaking exclusively to FOX 11 under a guarantee of anonymity, the veteran firefighter revealed that the department failed to properly monitor the initial Lockman fire, allowing it to flare back up seven days later as the devastating Palisades Fire.
The whistleblower’s account aligns with a juror from the trial, who confirmed the defense’s “holdover fire” theory failed to convince the jury. This juror stated she could not convict Rinderknecht because the department’s own negligence played a significant role in the disaster.
Despite these explosive revelations of internal department failure, federal prosecutors have announced they intend to push forward with a retrial.
So far, there is no date set for the retrial.
Read More: ‘Cannot Reach a Verdict’: Jury Deadlocked in Trial of Palisades Fire Suspect
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The anonymous source described, in detail, what was done wrong:
According to the whistleblower, the department completely bypassed standard fire watch protocols after the initial blaze.
“Our job is to put out fires, not to, you know, douse them and leave. So we feel that our job, when do we take responsibility? We should have had engines sitting there the entire time, on fire watch. They could have called in the hand crews. They could’ve called in infrared drones which are sitting around, which you guys found for a couple of million dollars, but they never used. You could have just had an engine on there, rotating around, every four or five hours, just in case something sparked up. No one did that. They’re 100% to blame.”
The whistleblower addresses the LAFD’s claim that the fire reemerged from its source in a smaller blaze that re-ignited after the firefighters left the scene, noting that closer attention should have been paid to ensuring the fire was out, and also claimed that crews should have remained on site until it was certain there was no further danger. If the claims are accurate, then people at the top levels of the LAFD may well bear much responsibility for this disaster.
As of this writing, there’s no indication that the LAFD will be launching any internal investigation. The LAFD has not, again as of this writing, made any statement in regard to the whistleblower’s allegations.
This is a developing story. We will be bringing you updates as events warrant.
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