Fire Bonds: Yes on N

Los Angeles firefighters battling flames at the First Interstate Bank building this spring and at the Central Library two years ago faced serious communications problems. Their radios failed, and they had to rely on runners to get messages from the command post into the burning buildings.

The Los Angeles Fire Department now is testing radios that dramatically reduce such “dead spots.” They are part of a new fire department communications system the department will buy if voters approve Proposition N on the Nov. 8 ballot. We urge a yes vote on N.

The measure would authorize a $67-million bond issue to finance the new network of radios, portable radios for every on-duty firefighter and paramedic, a computer dispatch network designed to reduce response time to alarms and automated system for tracking fire trucks and ambulances so the department would know exactly where emergency vehicles were at all times.

Many of the portable radios now used by firefighters and paramedics are more than 20 years old and wearing out. The department also uses a computer system designed in the 1960s and installed in 1974. With a new system that included mobile terminals in each truck, calls for help could be processed more quickly. Vehicles could start rolling and get complete alarm information on the road. The department now does not always know where its trucks or ambulances are, particularly when they are returning from a call. New tracking equipment would let it locate and dispatch the vehicle closest to an emergency.

A city homeowner with a 1,500-square-foot home would pay about $8 a year more for 10 years in property taxes to pay off the bonds. Minutes are golden when lives are at stake or fires threaten to spread. This bond issue will purchase equipment that can help save time and so save lives. Vote yes on city Proposition N.