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Politics & Government

Officials to Explain Changes in Chatsworth Fire Station Staffing

Councilman Greig Smith says there will be no delay in response time, "Not one second."

Fire Department officials will attempt to clear the smoke around staffing levels at Chatsworth and Porter Ranch fire stations at two community meetings beginning Tuesday.

The Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council had an "informal discussion" Tuesday at  7 p.m. at Shepherd of the Hills Church, 19700 Rinaldi St.

UPDATE: Then at 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, a Town Hall meeting is planned at Shepherd of the Hills Church. It will be hosted by fire department officials who will explain the proposed changes taking effect this summer and their effect the community.

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Fire officials are expected to field questions about a reduction in services, including the elimination of emergency response paramedics, fire trucks commonly known as hook-and-ladders and a change in ambulance services.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragoisa is facing a $457-million deficit in a
general-fund budget of $4.4 billion. The City Council has been hammering out details to come up with a balanced budget for the next fiscal year. An estimated 19,000 full- and part-time employees voted on Friday to contribute 4 percent of their salaries toward retirement health benefits to avoid furloughs and job cuts. This will save the city $396 million over the next four years, according to Villaragoisa.

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In terms of fire and ambulance services, the department developed a 2011 deployment plan, which hits the San Fernando Valley hard, according to critics.

But those in the know say the cuts are necessary to address the budget gap and balk at criticism from union representatives who say they are painting an inaccurate doom and gloom picture.

Chatsworth Station 96 is losing one engine, which translates to four individuals being transferred out.  Engine trucks are equipped with the Jaws of Life, saws, tools, ladders and other heavy equipment used in an earthquake and to rescue people from upper floors.

“There is not really (a structure) higher than two stories tall in the (Chatsworth/Porter Ranch) area, and there is a ladder truck at Station 70 in Northridge, which is central to the entire area,” said retiring City Councilman Greig Smith. “The only time a ladder is needed is to deliver aerial water on top of rooftops of large commercial fires. I have seen only two of those in the past eight years. In both cases a number of ladders were dispatched, because they were major alarm fires. The response to any such commercial building in Chatsworth would be from Station 70 at Reseda (Boulevard) and Lassen (Street). Response time is an additional (one) minute away. On a large commercial fire that extra minute will have no impact.”

A 600-series ready reserve ambulance will be added to Station 96. The 600-series is a fully loaded ambulance that is ready to go at any time, but a firefighter/paramedic is not assigned to it on a full-time basis. When necessary, a person will be brought in.

At nearby fire Stations 8 and 28 in Porter Ranch, several cuts and additions are also scheduled.

Station 8 will be losing its 800-series ambulance, which has a dedicated driver and paramedic assigned to it. It will be replaced with a 600-series unit. That’s a net loss of two employees being transferred out.

Station 28, it is losing an assessment light force, which in lay terms means a fire truck, an engine and a paramedic. Instead, fire Station 28 will have an assessment engine, which includes a paramedic. That translates to the net loss of two firefighters being transferred.

Both stations are north of Rinaldi Street; Station 8 is on Tampa Avenue and Station 28 is on Corbin Avenue. (See accompanying map)

The 2011 Deployment Plan is designed to maximize service delivery under a reduced budget. It will end the current Modified Coverage Plan and provide the ability to augment coverage when needed. The Plan will be incrementally implemented beginning in June, with the major implementation occurring on July 5. Some additional limited changes will take place later as apparatus and equipment become available.

Smith said four out of every five 911 calls are for medical assistance, not fire-related, but the department's staffing and deployment model is still based mostly on fighting fires.

The Fire Department budget is $481 million. With the new three-year plan, fire officials estimate a savings of an estimated $190 million.

All 106 fire stations remain open; 64 fire stations have no change; 10 fire stations have the addition of a firefighter/paramedic to an existing resource.

There are minimal increases in response times with regard to all emergencies, medical and fire, for the first resource on scene, according to fire officials.

The Plan provides the process and ability to augment staffing levels based on vulnerability and risk.

“With regard to the urban interface in the Chatsworth area, frequently we will stage
Task Forces and Strike Teams depending on the level of security,” said Trevor M. Richmond, a planning section commander for the Los Angeles Fire Department. “Fire station 28 has historically been a strategic location where we will position these resources. Depending on the severity of the weather and the conditions of the area, the pre-deployment can be augmented to meet the potential threat.”

Richmond also said his department doesn’t show any future increase in response times in the Chatsworth area.

“The community can be certain in knowing that we will still be able to provide a first resource on scene in less than five minutes with the new deployment plan,” Richmond said.

Richmond said the fire department’s resource modeling is based on call loads, complexity of the district and how long it would take for a neighboring Fire/Emergency Medical Services resource to respond.

Fire Station 96 averages 6.7 total daily runs, Station 28 averages 1.5 and Station 107 averages 4.2 calls per day.

“Based on these call loads, these resources are available most of the time,” Richmond said. “And relative to citywide call loads, they would be considered some of our slower resources.”

In a recent Chatsworth Patch story, Pat McOsker, a union president at odds with City Council and extremely vocal about the reduction in fire-fighting services, said business will be as usual at some stations, but in communities, like Chatsworth, there will be delayed responses.

“Unfortunately, there will be property lost, injuries that get worse and sometimes lives that are lost,” McOsker said.

Smith, who chairs the city’s Public Safety Committee, has said there will be no delays in response time.

“Not one second. There will be one less fire engine in initial response, but during
times of elevated fire threat the engine is brought back,” Smith said. “Also, in cases of major alarm fires, for example a large building fire in the industrial area, the fire dispatchers will automatically dispatch numerous fire companies from the area. That is the current plan as well. Nothing has changed in that regard.

“The Union is fighting this because they have a lot of firefighters who collect a lot of
overtime pay under the old system. It is a system that has not changed in its basic form for 40 to 50 years,” Smith said. “I do not believe that the taxpayers of this city would be too upset that the union members won't be making huge salaries under the new plan. What they want is an ambulance or fire truck to respond as fast as possible when they need it most. That response time does not change.”

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