Saying that the LAFD is primarily an EMS agency, the Fire Chief has decided to transfer 60 firefighters from various shifts onto emergency medical vehicles to respond to non-life threatening situations. This will allow paramedic units to respond to more severe calls.
The proposed policy was announced and an operational date followed rapidly thereafter. The speed with which the new staffing policy will be implemented is an apparent departure from the intense study that often goes into policy modifications. And it has invoked the ire of labor unions and City officials.
The plan also calls for increasing the number of ambulances by about a third, up to 45. The changes are seen as part of a response to a scandal last year where the LAFD was discovered publishing inaccurate response times to emergency calls.
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times.