VENTURA : City May Pull Out of Ambulance Contract

The Ventura City Council has put the county on notice that it plans to withdraw from a contract that provides ambulance service to west Ventura County residents.

With city Fire Department officials complaining that they often arrive at emergencies faster than CareLine California paramedics, city officials are considering whether to let fire crews take over the service.

Fire Chief Dennis J. Downs asked the council late Monday to hire a consultant to study the possibility.

A similar study last year concluded that the city would make between $350,000 and $1.2 million over five years by providing the service. The joint agreement expires June 30, 1996.

By alerting the other agencies that Ventura plans to withdraw, the city would have time to complete the study and implement the new service before the current agreement elapses, Downs said.

Several residents spoke in favor of the switch at a public hearing Monday night. Ventura resident Jean Yarbrough said fire crews saved her husband’s life after he suffered a heart attack in November.

“The ambulance service was there maybe five to seven minutes later,” Yarbrough said. “I would have lost my husband if the Fire Department hadn’t been there.”

Barbara Brodfuehrer, the county’s emergency medical service administrator, urged the council to wait until county supervisors consider the paramedic service next week.

“I don’t see any advantage to your making this decision prior to the county making a decision,” she said.

But council members disagreed. “We’ve waited for the county [to make a decision on a new agreement] for over a year,” Councilman Steve Bennett said.