Kerry Cavanaugh: LAFD plan aiming to do more with less

For years now, four out of every five 911 calls to the Los Angeles Fire Department have been for medical assistance, not burning houses. Yet, the department's staffing and deployment model still reflected the old emphasis on fire suppression.

No more.

With the aid of computer modeling software, Fire Chief Millage Peaks' team analyzed three years of 911 calls and came up with a plan that reflects the reality of L.A. today. His redeployment beefs up medical response, trims fire resources and cuts staff to save $54 million this coming year.

It won't be an easy sell. Nobody wants to hear that the city is cutting fire engines or shrinking the size of the fire force.

But, Peaks said, the alternative is just as bad.

Since 2008, the department's budget has shrunk by about $100 million and the LAFD hasn't hired a single firefighter.

In 2009, the fire department went on a "modified coverage plan," which closed fire companies on a rotating basis. Each day, 122 fewer fighters were assigned to stations. The result was a chaotic system in which firefighters were shuttled all over town to work with people they didn't know - not a good situation for people who work in life-threatening conditions.

Peaks' redeployment plan will permanently and selectively close fire companies based on the computer modeling data. He'll reduce the number of staffed fire engines in areas where demand is low, and increase medical response in areas

where demand is high. Some 10 fire companies will be reassigned as paramedic resources - a reflection of the high number of medical calls.

The service closures will mean 106 fewer firefighters assigned to stations each day. Instead, they'll fill in for firefighters who are sick, on vacation or in training, which will reduce overtime expenses.

By permanently cutting fire resources, the department will need 318 fewer firefighters. No one will be laid off, but the department won't replace retiring firefighters and the staff will shrink. In three years, Peaks estimates the city will save $197 million as a result of the redeployment plan.

Will the public notice the reduced staffing?

"I hope they don't," Peaks said Wednesday. "I've tried to make the process as painless as possible."

The end result, he said, will be a department that still provides top-notch service to the public on a leaner budget than anyone thought possible.

Other fire agencies across the nation are keeping tabs, Peaks said. "They're watching to see how we're going to pull a rabbit out of our hat and save the kind of money we need to save."

Kerry Cavanaugh is an editorial writer and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. She can be reached at kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com.

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