To the editor: Whether Jonathan Rinderknecht started a fire on New Year’s Eve is up for debate (“Mistrial declared in Palisades fire arson case, a stunning blow to U.S. prosecutors,” June 26).
What’s not up for debate is the ineptitude of the Los Angeles Fire Department for not seeing that the Lachman fire was truly extinguished. According to many articles in the Los Angeles Times, the fire wasn’t out, as evidenced by text messages sent by firefighters at the scene. But they were told by their commanding officers to “roll up the hoses” and leave. The actions of the LAFD were ultimately the cause of that fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
And yet, there was no accountability for those responsible. The woman who was in charge of the LAFD at the time was not removed from the department, merely demoted, meaning she could still be eligible for a generous LAFD pension.
It’s always amazing to me how poorly this city, county and state are run. Stupid choices and decisions with no accountability.
B.W. Andrews, East Hollywood