Fire Station 69 (corner of Sunset and Carey) is the latest casualty of the Los Angeles budget cuts. Ten days a month, the station’s engine company, which normally has 12 firefighters and two fire suppression units, will be reduced to eight firefighters and one fire suppression unit. The other 20 or so days of the month, the station will remain fully staffed as a task force with a paramedic unit plus an engine company (a pump truck with four firefighters) and a light force, which consists of two vehicles that never separate: a ladder truck, which carries no water, just tools, ladders and Jaws of Life with four fighters, and a pump truck with hose and water and two firefighters. The L.A. City Council voted to cut $39 million from the fire department’s budget, which has resulted in daily closures across the city of 15 fire companies and nine rescue ambulances on a rotating basis. ‘Remaining at Station 69 is Light Force 69 with a full crew of six firefighters, along with Rescue Ambulance 69, staffed by two firefighter/paramedics,’ John Gregory of Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s office wrote in a letter to Community Council Chairman Richard Cohen. ‘Neither of these remaining resources are subject to the rotating closures and will remain fully staffed 24/7, leaving eight members assigned to the station at all times.’ What is the reality for Pacific Palisades residents? An off-duty firefighter spoke to the Palisadian-Post on the condition of anonymity, explaining that Palisadians could be at risk those 10 days a month. There’s already been evidence of the cuts. ‘The station received a call for a structure fire last week,’ the firefighter said. ‘Station 69’s light force responded and an additional engine company from a surrounding area had to be dispatched to fill in for Engine 69.’ In addition, Stations 23 (Sunset at Los Liones) and 19 (Sunset at Greta Green) are only single-engine companies with four firefighters. There are no backup fire suppression resources at these stations. If these firefighters are already responding to a fire, a medical emergency or an accident, then Engine 69 is the sole fire station backup able to provide immediate response. If there is a bad traffic accident on PCH, the Station 23 engine and paramedics respond, along with Station 69, which has the equipment to extricate victims trapped in vehicles. If a fire breaks out while Station 23 and 69 are out, the closest station to respond would be 19’provided these firemen are not also out. Station 69 is the sole task force company in this area. The nearest other task force stations are in Westwood and Venice, which are also subject to rotating engine closures. ‘This is a great risk heading into the brush fire season,’ the Post’s source said, and he wonders if there is another way to cut the budget rather than putting residents at risk. He felt that the city is taking a gamble with ‘brown-outs,’ which is what the rotating closures have been called, and if a medical emergency and a brush or structure fire occur at the same time, Palisades residents have to hope it’s not one of the 10 days that Station 69 is without its engine company.
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