Calif. city receives FEMA grant to restore firefighter positions

By Juliette Funes San Gabriel Valley Tribune (California)

MONTEBELLO —The Montebello Fire Department has been awarded a nearly $900,000 federal grant to restore three firefighter/paramedic positions that were cut last year as part of a cost-savings plan.

The City Council last week accepted a $855,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant that will allow the Montebello Fire Department to restaff the three positions for two years at Fire Station 56 at 1166 S. Greenwood Ave.

To help produce a balanced budget, the Fire Department last year reduced daily staffing levels from 16 to 15 firefighters per shift.

The cuts resulted in one less paramedic on duty - three instead of four - and downgraded the department's paramedic service from what is considered advanced life support to basic life support.

The grant will provide funding for the positions from Nov. 3 through Nov. 2, 2014.

"For me, it's huge," Montebello Fire Chief Tim Wessel said. "As the fire chief, in trying to provide the best possible service we can to the community, when we go from four to three paramedics, that hurts. You get a lot of sleepless nights and getting back up to the full units and not relying so much on our neighbors, that's a big thing for us and a big thing for this community."

As part of the grant, the city must fund a third year at the staffing level.

"It certainly will help the city and the citizens in adequately staffing the Fire Department," Mayor Frank Gomez said. "It's my hope that we as a council look diligently to fund these positions after year two."

Officials said restoring levels to what they once were is imperative to improving response times, particularly for advance life support cases.

Response times have increased between 15 to 25 seconds since the firefighter paramedic positions were eliminated, Wessel said.

"It's huge. During that period of time, if two paramedics are on scene they could have started administering medications for patients, or electroshocks for someone in cardiac arrest," Wessel said. "There's a lot of things someone can do in that 30 seconds. It may not sound like a lot, but any increase in response times is not good." The department currently has 53 total fire personnel.

The department is also celebrating a $584,000 federal grant it was awarded earlier this year to purchase a new front line fire engine, which is set to roll into the city by December.

"It's been a very good year," Wessel said.

The new fire engine - which will replace a decade-old engine - will service Station 55 at 600 N. Montebello Blvd.

"That was a big deal for us because we had no means to replace any of our engines," Wessel said. "It's a big deal for this city."

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