KTLA

Female firefighters, civil rights advocates call for removal of LAFD chief

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas and Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, are seen at a news conference in 2014. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles firefighters and advocates for women on Monday called on Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas to resign following months of allegations that female firefighters face hazing, bullying and sexual harassment by their male colleagues.

Representatives of the Los Angeles Women in the Fire Service, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, Women’s March Action and the California National Organization for Women held a news event to denounce the treatment of women at the department.

“We call to the end of the good old boys club at the LAFD,” said Kolieka Siegel, president of the National Organization for Women. She also directly addressed the mayor, saying “Mayor Eric Garcetti, you have work to do.”

Jennifer Wilcox, a 13-year veteran of the Fire Department, said that “rampant sexism, racism, harassment and abuse continue to occur in a culture that has perpetuated this behavior year after year.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.