(May 27, 2013) -- Following the progress of Fire Chief DuRee's proposed rapid deployment plan has almost become something tantamount to watching a soap opera as the plan continues on its way to becoming either reality or a bad memory. I have been following this now for nearly six months and I continue to be amazed at the rhetoric surrounding this entire matter.

If you believe what Chief DuRee is telling people then you would come to the belief that his plan is a done deal. If you listen to Chief DuRee and buy into his rhetoric about just how wonderful his plan will be in both effectiveness and in service you should be asking yourself why no other city in Los Angeles County delivers paramedic service in this manner.

If you listen to our firefighters, which I put a great deal of credence in by the way, you would be more inclined to believe that this plan will not improve efficiency and will actually decrease the quality of care. There is also a strong possibility that it will actually cost more due to a myriad of factors not the least of which is the possibility of lawsuits that inevitably will occur when the quality of service is reduced. You would also be inclined to believe that any future implementation of this proposed plan is very doubtful.

I have, due to the diligence of LBREPORT.com, been able to watch and listen to the last two meetings of the County EMS Commission [most recent meeting, here] and if you can follow what is happening there you would come away with any of several feelings, none of which would lead you to the conclusion that this program will be implemented as originally proposed. You just might come to the conclusion that some version of it may get a brief trial run, but you would not be inclined to believe that it will go forward as proposed and as envisioned by Chief DuRee. Once again, if this program was the game changer that our fire chief tries to tell people it is then why isn’t everyone else doing it this way?

I put a great deal of credence in what the personnel, who actually provide the service, tell me about their job. If you take the time to stop a firefighter on the street and ask him or her how they feel about the proposed change in paramedic service I would be shocked if they had anything positive to say about this plan. Like I have said many times previously, I can still not find one current or former LBFD member, outside of the Chief and his command staff, who think that this plan has any merit whatsoever.

During the past week I have read, on two different occasions, articles in local written publications here in Long Beach that would lead one to believe that the plan is moving forward. After reading my second article in a week I placed a call to the firefighter’s union representatives for some clarification. After listening to what they had to say, and then piecing that together with what I heard at the last commission meeting I have reached the conclusion that this whole issue is still very much up in the air.

What I find personally disgusting about what is being said publicly is that our fire chief continues to give the public and the press the impression that his plan is well on its way to becoming reality. The next meeting of the County EMS Commission isn't until mid-July. If they hold that meeting as scheduled, which has been known to be cancelled in the past due to vacation schedules of commission members, and approve his plan it still has to be given final approval by the Long Beach City Council. This only makes sense because isn't this where the buck actually stops anyway?

I am not convinced that the City Council is totally sold on this plan yet. I would also hope that the City Attorney Bob Shannon, would weigh in on the potential exposure via litigation and lawsuit issues that we may face should the quality of care not be as advertised by Chief DuRee. Of course, I would also love to see this issue get a complete and full hearing before the public, you know the very people whom the paramedic programs were designed to serve in the first place.

If Long Beach, California were Mayberry RFD then a program similar to what is being proposed might actually be viable. Long Beach, unfortunately for better or worse, is not Mayberry and when you examine the state of public safety as well as both the volume and complexity of the work that all of our public safety personnel do on a daily basis you would know that there are huge differences between how these services are handled in a city the size and complexity of Long Beach.

The real bottom line here is that this entire issue wouldn't even be on the table right now if it weren’t for the fact that certain elected officials in this city have proposed budget cuts to the fire department. This is an agency that actually has fewer sworn personnel today than it had in the mid 1960’s. One of the few city departments that have experienced continual cuts, over and over again, and one that for some strange reason finds itself once again looking at the budget ax.

It has always been my belief that local government has a primary responsibility to provide for the safety of its citizens. Police and fire services should be at the head of the list when it comes to budget priorities and while it is one thing to see to it that they provide their services in the most cost effective manner possible it is also important to give them the tools necessary to get the job done. I just can’t see that there is anything more fundamental to the quality of life in any city than providing quality public safety services. Long Beach and its residents deserve nothing less.