The Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency this week called for a “sweeping overhaul” of the Compton Fire Department after reports surfaced about inadequate service to the thousands of 911 calls it responds to each year.
In a letter sent to Compton’s interim fire chief, the county agency chided the department for having only three rescue units staffed by paramedics on call. The letter included data analysis that concluded that Compton has significantly fewer paramedics than cities of comparative size, including nearby Downey, Burbank and West Covina. Compton fire officials have reported that it responded to a greater number of 911 calls last year than each of the three aforementioned departments.
The letter also recommended a broad restructuring of how the fire agency manages emergency medical care, listing a series of steps to address alleged breakdowns in oversight.
“We’re at a definite crossroads,” said Cathy Chidester, author of the letter and head of the county emergency services department. “Hopefully, the city manager and the city council in Compton can see what needs to be done. The department is understaffed. People who call 911 in Compton are getting a response for sure, but they should be concerned.”
Bryan Batiste, interim fire chief, said he welcomed the recommendations and was well into addressing the issues. He said some of the problems have resulted from a lack of funding in the city budget, and also workplace “attitudes” that may demonstrate a needed shift among personnel toward focusing more on medical care. Batiste was appointed this month when Compton officials placed the city’s previous fire chief, Jon Thompson, on administrative leave after the disclosure that some city firetrucks and ambulances had been stripped of defibrillators, a critical lifesaving device that rescuers have on hand to deliver a shock to try to restart the heart of a cardiac arrest victim.
County officials this summer had forced the department to remove the defibrillators from paramedic units following media reports that nearly one in four firefighters there did not have a permit to perform emergency medical care. This certification is reportedly a key credential required by other local fire agencies.
Shortly after Batiste took his position, he launched a rapid retraining effort and the defibrillators were restored to city fire vehicles. He also said other reform efforts would soon begin to show results.
“We have a hurdle, and we’re going to jump that hurdle,” Batiste said.
The controversy is the latest incident to hit the sometimes beleaguered fire department. Last year a former battalion chief was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for selling city-owned radio equipment and starting a fire to cover up the theft. Marcel Dione Melanson, a 17-year veteran, was ordered to pay $517,477 in restitution for the 2011 fire and had to register as an arson offender for life.
Melanson was convicted of starting a fire in a racquetball court inside Compton Fire Station No. 1; more than 200 radios valued at more than $1 million were stored in the racquetball court. Sheriff’s investigators revealed that many of the stolen radios were sold to private buyers or on EBay. Melanson had reportedly been acquiring and selling Compton-owned radio equipment since 2008.
