BUENA PARK : Smooth Fire Dept. Transition Is Sought

Following the City Council’s decision this week to turn Buena Park Fire Department over to the county, city officials said they are focusing on a smooth transition and change the public hardly will notice.

Fire Chief Herb R. Jewell said the city’s fire equipment will be sold to the county, but the chrome yellow fire trucks will remain the same color--until they need a paint job. Only then will they be painted red to match the county’s vehicles.

Other equipment, however, will be renumbered and identified with the Orange County Fire Department seal, Jewell said.

Jewell also said city firefighters’ uniforms will be a different color: As employees of the county they will wear light blue shirts, instead of dark blue shirts, and will bear the county’s uniform patch.

“My attitude is you’re going to have the same fire stations, the same fire stations staffed and opened, you’re going to have competent fire personnel and have many of the current Buena Park firefighters” working in the city, Jewell said.

The chief said he doesn’t expect “any operational difficulties.”

The city agreed this week to contract fire services beginning Oct. 1, a move expected to save Buena Park about $1.2 million over the next four years. The city has three fire stations, which will remain open.

The agreement requires the county to add a fourth firefighter to one truck company but eliminates one of the city’s four engine companies.

The switch was opposed by some residents, who vowed to fight the council’s 4-1 decision. Opponents, including Councilman Don R. Griffin, who cast the dissenting vote, said they feared the move would decrease service and cost the city more money for fire services in the long run.

But supporters say the city will save money and maintain the current level of service.

City Manager Kevin O’Rourke said that as a result of the contract approval, the council isn’t expected to approve next year’s general-fund budget until mid-July, a 30-day delay. O’Rourke said the extra time is needed to make budget adjustments and for the council to make policy decisions on what to do with the cost savings of contracting fire services.

As part of the changeover to county fire service, Jewell said, city firefighters will begin taking physical exams in July, a county requirement to be hired. The city’s 55 firefighters will be offered jobs with the county providing they pass the exam.

Jewell also said that in early August, orientation and training sessions will be held to inform city firefighters about county Fire Department policies and procedures. City Fire Department records, such as training and fire prevention records and dispatch materials, also will be transferred to the county, he said.

Jewell, who is expected to be offered a battalion chief’s position, said that the city’s contract with the county will provide an adequate level of fire protection and paramedic service to the community.

The council’s decision to contract fire services “brings a closure to three years of a continual downhill slide in fire protection and paramedic service that have been brought on by elements external to the city,” Jewell said.