Rosendahl Issues Statement on LAFD Staffing Plan

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl expressed concern Monday over Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Chief Brian Cummings' proposal to staff 11 more city ambulances with firefighters currently working on fire engines.

Cummings said he will reassign one firefighter from "light force companies" to ambulance duty and said this would better match the department's resources to the 85 percent of calls that are medical-related, while leaving trucks and engines free to respond to fires.

In his statement, Rosendahl said the move reduces staff levels:

I wish I could be standing with Los Angeles firefighters and first responders today. As City leaders, one of our most important responsibilities and duties is to make sure our police officers and firefighters have everything they need to respond to emergencies.

Last week I wrote a letter to the chief telling him that while I respect the need to increase the number of ambulances, the firefighters at Fire Station 63 and other stations can’t afford to have one less firefighter on their engines.

We can and must do more to fully fund the fire department, so firefighters like the men and women at Station 63 have everything they need to keep us safe.
We have to do everything we can to find money in the budget to backfill those cuts from previous years so our first responders have enough people, the best equipment, and the newest technology.

In his April 19 letter to Cummings, which is attached to this post, Rosendahl said he's particularly concerned this plan removes one firefighter from Station 63 in Venice and one of the six firefighters remaining at Station 69 in Pacific Palisades. He said that while it may be enhanced as a service improvement for the community, the reality is the ambulance will be pulled away from Pacific Palisades and into other parts of the Westside with a higher call volume.

On Monday, city controller and mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel spoke at an event in Venice, where she weighed in on the subject.

The post has been updated from its original version.