LAFD seeks $4.5M to restore service at fire station

Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas also wants to add staff to increase supervision and begin an outreach program to recruit in high schools

October 25, 2014 03:20 AM

Daily News

LOS ANGELES — In his first request for funding to implement reforms, Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas won preliminary approval Friday for a $4.5-million increase to his budget to re-open a fire station in Los Feliz, add staff to increase supervision and begin an outreach program to recruit in high schools.

“Before my appointment, in meeting with council members, the constant message was to restore and reform the department,” Terrazas said at a meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, which recommended approval of his request for the funds. It still needs the approval of two other committees and the full City Council.

“This is the first step toward the goal of the council and the mayor to deal with response time, hiring resources and being reflective of what we need,” he said.

As part of the overall reform effort, Terrazas said he hopes to have in place by December a new bureau concept, modeled after the way the Los Angeles Police Department divides the city, with four regions staffed by assistant chiefs.

The bureaus will be closely aligned to the boundaries of the LAPD, Terrazas said, with some differences based on the geography of the city.

The fire station to be re-opened is Fire Station 35, 1601 N. Hillhurst, Los Feliz.

Terrazas said the decision was based on the call volume in the area and how re-opening the station would provide some relief to other nearby stations.

It was one of 11 stations closed due to budget issues in the past several years. Terrazas said he hopes to be able to re-open more stations in the future.

Also, he is requesting funds for data technicians and a fire dispatch supervisor to help reduce response times and provide the updates to the Firestat system that was unveiled this week.

Terrazas also said he wanted to be able to hire an additional nurse educator to provide ongoing training for paramedics.

“The ratio we have now is 390 to 1,” Terrazas said. “If you approve this, it will be 240 to 1. We should be at 50 to 1. My concern is in raising the training capability of our paramedics, or we risk an increase in litigation.”

Terrazas said he will partner with the LAPD to step up recruiting efforts at high schools, particularly in minority areas, to increase the diversity of the department.