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Villaraigosa wants 6 more Fire Department ambulances activated

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fire-response-
20120323,0,6015519.story

Seeking to bolster public confidence in the beleaguered Los 
Angeles Fire Department, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa late 
Thursday called on the City Council to dip into budget reserves 
to activate six more ambulances and ordered the appointment of a 
recognized public safety analyst to take charge of the agency's 
accounting of its performance.

In a letter to the council, Villaraigosa characterized as 
"untenable" recent confusion over how fast fire units respond to 
emergencies. "We must take immediate steps to rectify it," he 
said.

Controversy over response times erupted two weeks ago after fire 
officials admitted that for years they had been putting out 
performance data that made it appear that they were getting to 
medical emergencies faster than they actually were.

To help quell growing concerns among the public and lawmakers, 
Villaraigosa directed Fire Chief Brian Cummings to create a new 
staff position to oversee the department's statistical analysis.

Jeff Godown, former director of the Los Angeles Police 
Department's high-tech, crime-tracking Compstat Bureau, most 
recently served as interim chief of the San Francisco Police 
Department. His initial assessment of the department's 
performance data is expected within 30 days.

Villaraigosa's call for six additional ambulances marks a 
reversal from his directives in recent years that the department 
trim spending.

He and council members have cut more than 15% from the Fire 
Department's budget since 2009, causing firetrucks and 
ambulances to be removed from service at more than one-fifth of 
the city's 106 stations. In the most recent round of budget 
cuts, which took effect in July, four ambulances were shut down.

The reductions have been unpopular among firefighters and some 
community members, who say response times have gone up as a 
result. It wasn't immediately clear where the new ambulances 
would be deployed, but firefighters in the field have said 
cutbacks have created gaps in coverage and longer response times 
in the San Fernando Valley.

In a presentation to the Fire Commission in December, fire 
officials acknowledged that response times had increased in some 
parts of the city in the wake of the cutbacks. In Porter Ranch, 
for example, the average response time for rescuers was more 
than seven minutes, according to officials.

Adding to the scrutiny of the department in recent weeks were 
reports that its dispatch system has been malfunctioning since 
late February. The problems led to delayed responses in at least 
several calls across the city, The Times found.

Villaraigosa also directed Eileen Decker, his deputy mayor of 
homeland security and public safety, to procure money to replace 
aging equipment.

In addition, the mayor filled an empty spot on the Fire 
Commission. Alan Skobin, an attorney and the vice president of 
Galpin Ford, has served on the Police Commission for nine years. 
He was also on a panel that presented recommendations to 
Villaraigosa during his search last year for a new fire chief. 
Cummings was named to the post in July.

Villaraigosa's actions came the evening before the council's 
Public Safety Committee planned to take up the recent Fire 
Department controversies.