Worst Case Invalidates Councilman Rose’s Premise that “there is really no legitimate concern when it (ambulance) does go to other jurisdictions"

ABSTRACT: At the City Council Budget Meeting on April 17, 2008, City Council Member & CRFA (Carmel Regional Fire Ambulance) Board President Gerard Rose responded to a question about CRFA “picking up people all over” by stating that “there is really no legitimate concern when it does go to other jurisdictions.” A transcription of his pertinent remarks are reproduced. COMMENTS & QUESTIONS are presented, particularly COMMENTS rebutting City Council Member Gerard Rose’s assertions about CRFA and the Carmel Fire Department.

At the City Council Budget Meeting on April 17, 2008, City Council Member & CRFA Board President Gerard Rose responded to a question about CRFA “picking up people all over,” as follows:

“CRFA has contracts, whenever the Carmel dedicated wagon leaves the jurisdiction immediately we are on mutual aid with our neighbors. So there can be a couple minute delay, but never more than a couple of minutes. That’s why there is really no legitimate concern when it does go to other jurisdictions. As recently as Wednesday of this week, yesterday, we addressed, at a Board meeting, we addressed the issue of how far away can they go, because sometimes we get calls that are considerably further than Pebble Beach, and the Board made it clear yesterday, and I made it clear as the Board’s President yesterday, that we won’t tolerate that. Carmel is where these people belong, it’s where we want to be and it many cost us a little bit but I’m willing to pay more to keep our citizens safe...the worst case, if you want to have a CRFA back-up, we’re at Mid-Valley, which means that instead of getting a 3-minute response time, you’re getting an 8-minute response time, which is still better than 9 or 10, but and they have all that specialized medical equipment on board and they have the specially trained paramedics. But normally, what happens is the extra 2 people for the 2 men in, 2 men out, come from our neighbor, and Cypress is almost always that neighbor.”

REFERENCE:
Archived Video:
City Council Budget Meeting April 17, 2008
(Beginning 44:00-46:00 Ending)

COMMENTS & QUESTIONS:
• The "worst case" scenario invalidates City Councilman Gerard Rose’s premise that “there is really no legitimate concern when it (ambulance) does go to other jurisdictions.” That is, if the Carmel ambulance is dispatched to another jurisdiction away from Carmel-by-the-Sea, and the Carmel Fire Department receives a 911 call, then two Carmel Fire Fighters leave the Carmel Fire Station on an Engine to go to the scene. If our mutual aid neighbor is on a call, then they are not immediately available to fulfill the “two-in/two-out” OSHA requirement. In that situation, with two Carmel Firefighters at the scene of a structural fire and without back-up, the two Carmel Firefighters would go it alone, risking their own lives.

• The Citygate Associates Report on Carmel, Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments Consolidation stated that JPA Ambulance personnel as the two other “on-duty” fire fighters are not a complete solution as the ambulance covers a larger area than Carmel-by-the-Sea.

• The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) standard is for Fire Fighters to respond to the scene of an emergency with a “minimum of 4 personnel on each apparatus.” Moreover, jurisdictions assume “additional legal risk by failing to abide by NFPA 1710” standards. Carmel currently has only two Fire Fighters per engine per day.

• Contrary to City Council Member Gerald Rose’s implication that the CRFA Board dictates where the ambulance goes, the ambulance goes to the scene of emergencies, sometimes as far away as Salinas.

• City Council Member Gerard Rose stated that he is proud of the service CRFA provides Carmelites, including an average 3 minutes emergency response time and specialized equipment for real time monitoring transmitted to CHOMP for professional care during transport to the hospital. And he stated that CRFA service is worth the “several hundreds of thousands of dollars” that Carmel pays to belong to CRFA. Moreover, Rose stated he is willing to pay more for those services to “keep our citizens safe.” To “keep our citizens safe,” however, also requires that the City adequately staff the Carmel Fire Department with at least one additional Fire Fighter, and arguably two additional Fire Fighters, to meet NFPA Standards to enhance public safety, save lives and protect the community against liability.

• City Council Member Gerard Rose stated that the "worst case" scenario is an 8-9 minutes emergency response time, but earlier he stated that his physician friends tell him that the difference between a 3 minutes response time and an 9-10 minutes response time can mean the difference between life and death.

• Conclusion: While City Council Member Gerard Rose stated that he is willing to pay more for CFRA services to “keep our citizens safe,” he should realize that keeping citizens safe also means adequately funding and staffing our Carmel Fire Department to NFPA Standards.

• Questions: Why are City Council Member Gerard Rose and the other City Council Members jeopardizing the lives of Carmelites by not adequately funding and staffing the Carmel Fire Department? Why are City Council Members willing to gamble with the lives of Carmelites by knowingly allowing for the "worst case" scenario to occur to a Carmelite?