LOS ALAMITOS
Volunteer firefighters, referred to as “paid-call” firefighters because they are paid by the call, continue to fight a proposal by the Orange County Fire Authority to move them into a new system of reserve officers.
Under the reserve plan, they would be given better training but be paid less than they make under the paid-call system.
Capt. Scott Brown described the new program to City Council members last week, saying the Fire Authority needed this new plan because the paid-call system violates federal labor laws.
But local paid-call firefighters have disputed the legal findings. They have asked for the program to be delayed from its Jan. 1 start date so all of the 19 cities that belong to the Fire Authority could study the issue.
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