Board Rules Out Medic Training for Firefighters : Emergencies: The supervisors ask private ambulances to consider relocating stations to improve response times.

Ventura County supervisors decided Tuesday that there was no need to train firefighters throughout the county as paramedics, but they agreed to urge private ambulances to beef up service in areas plagued by slow response times.

Following the recommendations of a report by county health and fire officials, the supervisors agreed that there was not enough medical justification to warrant the costly training procedure, despite pleas to the contrary by the firefighters’ union.

Instead, the supervisors asked officials for the county’s three ambulance companies to work with county officials on the possibility of relocating ambulance stations near Oak Park, Newbury Park and Oak View--which have traditionally suffered from slow response times.

Supervisor Maria VanderKolk said that if an agreement cannot be reached with Pruner Health Care Service, which provides ambulance care to the Conejo Valley and much of the county, she will ask the board to consider placing a county ambulance staffed with fire department paramedics at a fire station near Oak Park.

“I think that one way or another, something needs to be done,” VanderKolk said. “I want to be able to say to my constituents that they are receiving the best care possible. I don’t have the confidence to say that right now.”

According to the county report, ambulance response times in the Oak Park, Oak View and Newbury Park areas often exceed 10 minutes, while response times to other areas of the county are less than five minutes.

Although emergency medical service to the three areas needs to be improved, the situation does not warrant placing paramedics in fire stations throughout the county, according to the report.

County officials agreed to prepare the report nearly a year ago, after citizens complained that ambulance services were inadequate and the county could do a better job if firefighters were trained as paramedics. Firefighters are the first on the scene 90% of the time, officials said.

However, Phillipp K. Wessels, director of the county Health Care Agency, told the board that the county’s emergency response system generally has served the citizens well, and medical training for firefighters would not significantly improve the services.

But he urged the board to make changes in the trouble spots.

In June, the supervisors are expected to review the progress of the talks with Pruner, Gold Coast Ambulance Service and Ojai Ambulance Service. Ambulance company officials said they are willing to work with the county on problems.

“We have to get together and sit down and talk about what they want,” said Don Pruner. “Anything is solvable.”

In addition to pursuing an agreement with the ambulance companies, the supervisors decided to study the possibility of forming a countywide emergency dispatch system.

Currently, six agencies dispatch emergency vehicles in the county. “That’s too many 911 systems,” said Supervisor John K. Flynn. “I think we have a big duplication of effort. I think we can save money if we bring them all together.”

Although county firefighters have pushed for a countywide system of trained paramedics, union President Ken Maffei praised the board’s action Tuesday, saying he was pleased the board was addressing the slow response times in the three areas.

“I’m satisfied the issue is not going to be dead,” Maffei said. “Obviously the response times are too long. We already have a station and crew located in Oak Park. We could do it very simply.”