LBFD Now Says Paramedic Rescue Unit 18 Will Remain At Stn 18 (After PIO Tells Us It Would Be Moved To Stn 19)
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(April 26, 2017, 8:35 p.m.) -- Less than an hour after LBREPORT.com reported what LBFD Public Information Officer / Firefighter Brian Fisk told us -- that Paramedic Rescue 18 would be moving from Station 18 (Palo Verde/Wardlow) to Station 19 (Clark/Monlaco) -- LB Fire Chief Mike DuRee phoned us to say it wasn't so.
And by 7:40 p.m., LBFD had issued a release, co-attributed to both PIO Fisk and PIO Jake Heflin, to say Paramedic Rescue 18 would continue to respond from Station 18 while "improvements" are being made at Station 18. LBFD's release text follows.
[LBFD release] In an effort to better serve the residents of East Long Beach, Fire Station 18 located at 3361 Palo Verde Avenue is undergoing a series of station improvements to include gender accommodations and updating aging station infrastructure. During these tenant improvements, Rescue 18 will continue to respond from the station and provide Advanced Life Support to the residents, homeowners, visitors, and businesses located in that area and throughout the City.
Did our story brush them back? You decide.
In the 3:00 p.m. hour on April 26, based on information we'd learned through more than one source, we contacted LBFD. LBFD PIO Fisk fielded our call. He was very specific in confirming that Rescue 18 would be moving to Station 19. He said it would happen sometime in May but didn't have the exact date. When we asked why, he said LBFD uses computer software that helps assign resources based on calls for service, dispatch/response times and the like. When we asked if Rescue 18 would be repainted to display Rescue 19, he said yes. He indicated that an Arson Unit would be moving into Station 18 which would at least keep the building in use (to avoid it closing entirely.)
And the PIO volunteered a factoid we didn't know: that Station 19 hasn't had a Paramedic Rescue unit for some time. When we asked him for details on when that happened, he called us back with details: Paramedic Rescue 19 disappeared from Station 19 in Nov. 2011, meaning FY12. We separately noted that by this time, Station 18 had already lost its former Fire Engine 18 in an earlier round of Mayor recommended, Council majority enacted budget reductions.
Within an hour of our reporting what LBFD's PIO told us, Fire Chief Mike DuRee called us to say Rescue 18 isn't moving to Station 19. We told him we reported what LBFD's PIO told us. Chief DuRee said he'd look into it. We told him [paraphrase and with considerable displeasure] that we'd also look into it.
