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News & Features
From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 12.04.08 edition.
IFPD says CalFire too expensive
By J.P. Crumrine, News
Editor
On Nov. 25, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) commission
discussed its Nov. 3 meeting with Riverside County Emergency Medical
Service and Fire officials as a result of the July Grand Jury report
recommending a change in the delivery of fire protection and ambulance
services to Idyllwild.
Commission President Glenn McWilliams described the meeting as “stuff
we talked about before, just a lot of CalFire presentation.”
But Commissioner Ben Killingsworth was more direct in his observations
of the meeting and the cost of change.
“Bottom line is if County Fire takes over the district, the costs at
least double,” Killingsworth stated. He enumerated each of IFPD’s fire
and ambulance vehicles, and then stated, “IFPD could man everyone.”
Later in the meeting, he admitted that only three staff (excluding the
chief) are on duty most of the time and, therefore, only one vehicle
could be staffed without calling for more personnel. Also,
Killingsworth’s cost analysis did not address the number of staff on
duty and issues of quality of service.
As an example, Fire Chief Steve Kunkle investigated the question of
whether the department had two fully staffed ambulances available for
duty on Oct. 19. He admitted the second ambulance with no paramedic on
board was sent to Pine Cove by the shift captain.
The proposed request for a new fire abatement contract was pulled from
the agenda at the Nov. 25 meeting.
Kunkle said the agency’s legal counsel was still reviewing the proposed
contract requirements.
“Are you still allowing local contractors input?” asked Reba Coutler,
executive director of the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council.
“Absolutely. Now is the time to do it,” Kunkle replied. “We’d like to
build a good document.”
Killingsworth’s request that Kunkle ensure that IFPD personnel conduct
the first fire abatement inspections beginning in 2009 created
confusion for Commissioner Earl Parker.
“When we talk first inspection, those are self-inspections,
right?” he asked.
But Killingsworth and Kunkle assured him that Ordinance 2007-1
specified that IFPD conduct the inspections.
“Now that we’ve cleared up the initial inspection problem,”
Killingsworth said, then asking Coulter what the FSC intended to do
about the new contract.
“Let us know who failed and as long as grant funds are available people
can take full advantage of them,” she replied. Then she added that many
people had claimed that they had never received their first abatement
letter, let alone the final notice to abate.
“As an old cop, probably half didn’t get the letter and half are not
telling the truth,” Killingsworth responded.
In budget issues, Kunkle said the department had received $11,000
from the Kansas State Bank and he wanted to put it toward new fire
hoses. Except for the equipment of the ladder truck, hoses on the other
equipment were failing regularly either during drilling or testing,
according to Capt. Mike Mulhall.
No one could explain why this purchase was not included in the current
budget, but the board supported using the windfall, plus another
$5,000.
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