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UPDATE: LBREPORT.com Learns Fire Engine Had To Travel Twice As Far To Put Out This Fire Due To Foster/Garcia Backed Budget Reductions; Do You Want A Paramedic Tied Up At A Vehicle Fire If You're Having A Heart Attack?



(June 10, 2014, 6:50 a.m.) -- LBREPORT.com has learned that an LBFD fire engine had to travel over twice as far as previously -- from Station 19 (3559 Clark Ave.) instead of from nearby Fire Station 17 (2241 Argonne Ave.) -- to put out the June 7 vehicle fire at Willow/Lakewood (photo below) because the nearer Fire Station 17 no longer has a fire engine capable of putting out fires due to voted budget actions recommended by Mayor Foster and enacted by a Council majority including now-Mayor elect Garcia.


A police car is visible on-scene, but firefighters aren't, in the photo above snapped by Kristin Chalmers

Mapquest.com indicates Fire Station 17 is less than a mile away (0.77 miles, Argonne to 23rd St. to Lakewood Blvd.) while Fire Station 19 is 1.61 miles away (route measured via Wardlow to Lakewood Blvd.) or 1.81 miles away (route from Clark to Willow). The rule of thumb is that a fire doubles every minute.

LBFD Public Information Officer Firefighter Will Nash tells LBREPORT.com that LBFD was notified of the fire at 4:23 p.m. and Engine 19 arrived at 4:28 p.m. and came from the station (not in transit from another call. It is also possible that if Engine 17 were funded as previously, it might have been temporarily unavailable responding to another call.)

>As LBREPORT.com previously reported, a residence across the street from Fire Station 17 burned earlier this year at roughly 2:00 a.m. until a fire engine capable of putting out the fire arrived from elsewhere further away.

The issue has added relevance as city management is now poised shortly after July 4th to implement a budget-driven paramedic change, backed by Foster and enacted in Sept. 2013 by a Council majority including Garcia (Foster's choice to chair the Council's Public Safety Committee) to test a cheaper paramedic system that would put a firefighter trained in paramedic procedures on every fire engine. The fire-engine deployed paramedic trained firefighter would replace the current standalone two-paramedic teams who respond to medical emergencies.

Under the Foster/Garcia backed system, if a medical emergency arose while Engine 19 were handling a vehicle fire, Engine 19 obviously wouldn't be available to provide that second paramedic-trained firefighter to residents near Lakewood/Willow or Clark/Conant. Long Beach residents citywide currently receive two arriving paramedics on a single vehicle, a service level provided to taxpayers by every other community in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Later today (June 10), the City Council will face an agendized item by Councilman Al Austin, supported by Councilmembers Schipske and Neal [who will exit the Council in mid-July] proposing to withhold implementation of the Foster/Garcia backed paramedic system test until budget discussions in August-September under a new Council majority (LBREPORT.com coverage, click here.)


(June 9, 2014, 6:45 a.m.) -- The photo below, published on LBREPORT.com's front page on Saturday June 8, was snapped by Kristin Chalmers, the significant-other of GreaterLongBeach.com publisher Dave Wielenga. They were driving west on Willow Street, saw the smoke plume, and passenger Chalmers snapped the pic as they passed by. Ms. Chalmers emailed it to LBREPORT.com at 4:27 p.m.


Photo courtesy of Kristin Chalmers

The obvious question: where are the firefighters? A police car was already on scene. Where's the fire engine to extinguish the flames? Mr. Wielenga says he and Ms. Chalmers didn't hear fire engine sirens when they passed by.

For decades, there was a fire engine at Station 17 very nearby (Argonne Ave. south of Willow St.) However, as previously reported by LBREPORT.com, budgets advised by Mayor Foster and enacted by his Council majority have left Station 17 a "ghost" fire station with no fire engine capable of putting out fires.

As reported months ago by LBREPORT.com, a residence across the street from Fire Station 17 burned until a fire engine arrived from somewhere further away.

We asked LBFD's weekend on-duty PIO when firefighters with a fire engine arrived at Lakewood/Willow and from where they came. He didn't have the info at hand over the weekend.

The less obvious but potentially more serious question: under a paramedic response system that Mayor Foster's Council majority voted last year to test on LB residents to save money -- that management intends to implement shortly after July 4th unless a Council majority votes on Tues. June 10 to delay it -- every LB fire engine will now carry one of the two paramedics promised to respond to medical emergencies.

So...do you want a fire engine carrying one of those paramedics tied up at a vehicle fire if you or a familymember are having a heart attack or a stroke, or there's a life-threatening traffic accident or other medical emergency where that second promised paramedic is supposed to be? How long would you want yourself or a familymember to wait until another fire engine arrives from further away carrying that second promised paramedic?

LBFD's PIO told us that LBFD responds to multiple vehicle fires every day. Do you want a paramedic tied up on one of those vehicle fires while you're having a medical emergency?

And -- as LBREPORT.com has asked before -- if Long Beach in such fine fiscal shape, why is the City unable to provide its taxpayers with paramedic response levels that every other L.A. and Orange County community is able to provide?

Developing...with further to follow on LBREPORT.com.



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