Central Los Angeles : City Budget Cuts Threaten Fire Service
Chalk up another potentially disastrous repercussion of the county budget cuts.
The financial crisis is threatening services at Fire Station 216 in South-Central Los Angeles. To trim costs, the county Fire Department has proposed eliminating one of the two fire engines at the station.
Fire officials say the South-Central station has one of the highest demands in the county for fire and emergency services and that taking away one engine will increase response times significantly.
“It’s borderline catastrophic,” said Michael Freeman, the Los Angeles County Fire Chief.
In attempts to avoid slashing services, fire officials have presented a plan to the Board of Supervisors that asks the board to raise the annual assessment charged to area homeowners. Fire officials say the cuts can be avoided if the assessment is raised from $33 to $55 annually per household.
A public hearing to gather community input will be held next month, fire officials say.
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