A viral video with comments from a Los Angeles Fire Department assistant chief has angered many in the wake of the devastating wildfires destroying southern California.
The video shows assistant chief Kristine Larson explain why it is important to have minority members of the fire department, and then she appears to defensively mock fire victims. Larson was lauded as the first black woman to be hired on as an LAFD chief.
'This is actually appalling. This is a public servant?'
"You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it's a medical call or a fire call, that looks like you," said Larson in the video. "It gives that person a little bit more ease knowing that somebody might understand their situation better."
She went on to address criticism that some women may not meet the strength standards needed to fulfill the requirements of the job.
"'Is she strong enough to do this?'" she said in the voice of critics. "'You couldn't carry my husband out of a fire.'"
"Which my response is, 'He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.'"