Search Results for “ambulance” – Page 2 – Friends For Fullerton's Future

June 1, 2020Fullerton City Council

Fullerton Fire Would Rather Watch Placentia Burn

Well folks, once again the Fullerton Fire Heroes are putting their union above your safety & spreading propaganda to do it.

Check out this “Community Update”.

Fire Hero Lies Placentia

Placentia changed their fire service to save money because the constant mercenary screaming from the Unions have bankrupted their town, much like our own. So Placentia opted to outsource medical calls to an ambulance company. Seems logical, but logic and these unions are mortal enemies.

Ultimately this “Hero” Union is mad because under the Placentia model they no longer get to play Uber for Paramedics who respond to the vast majority of calls.

85% of ALL fire calls in Fullerton are medical. There are AT MOST 2 paramedics in a unit of 4 heroes. That means that 85% of calls, 50% of our responding fire department is playing Uber & standing around. They stand around more at the hospital as they wait for the patient to be admitted or discharged. There obviously has to be a change to how this is done and calls are handled. This is just a vast waste of time & resources.

But nooooo. The Fullerton Fire Department wants to scare you with “unproven fire department” when FFD likely trained alongside some of those very same Placentia Fire members they’re worried are “unproven”. Placentia has to follow all of the same State Mandated Fire Safety protocols. They also hired a well credentialed & proven Chief to lead their new department.

Keep in mind that Fullerton Fire has no problem having a mutual aid agreement with OC Fire – the very entity that managed to let their own Fire Station burn down in the rain.

So much for “proven”.

Fullerton Fire would rather let Placentia residents risk life & property than have a mutual aid agreement with them and they’d rather let your house burn & your life be lost than let Placentia come here to offer assistance if they’re closer to your emergency.

Fullerton Fire, who will show up en mass to tomorrow & park all of their trucks in front of City Hall to bully their point of view, cares more about their wallets than your safety and this “community update” is proof.

All because the Placentia model scares their union. They’re scared that Fullerton residents might get tired of broken roads and a crumbling city propping up those Giant Bro Trucks in the parking lot & the Sweet, Sweet Benefits they enjoy.

Enough.

Tell City Hall to support Placentia and that our neighbor on the other side of CSUF can count on our help if needed. It’s time to put a stop to these Union lies & this blatant disregard for doing what’s right.

If the City votes against helping Placentia, we need to make sure to vote against this Council.

November 13, 2018Fullerton City Council

Council’s 2019 To-Do List

by Fullerton Bagman9 Comments

The transition to District elections is proceeding smoothly.

Well, the election is over. Silva won, Sebourn lost. Zahra won in District 5. The circle of political life turns once more as light falls on a new day in Fullerton.

Now that all the sign waiving, sign stealing, and empty-promise making is done, let’s take a look at the problems these poor fellows signed up to solve.

We’ve listed 100 discussion items in 27 different categories that likely need to be addressed in the next year. Feel free to add your own.

Here’s hoping Fullerton voters elected people who are intelligent, responsible, and accountable.

Council Vacancy Appointment/Special Election
Major Organizational Change at the Police Department
- Hiring a New Police Chief
- Hiring Two New Police Captains
Police Department Reputation and Morale Management
- ex-Sargent Corbett Criminal Trial (on duty)
- ex-Chief Hendricks Criminal Trial (not on duty)
- Captain Oliveras Criminal Trial (not on duty)
- ex-officers Cicinelli and Wolfe Civil Trial (on duty)
- Open and Anticipated Civil Trials
  - False Arrest and Defamation (Laguna Cops)
  - False Arrest and Civil Rights (Wildstar Arrest)
  - The Other Ones (there are more, just don’t have links for you)
- Citizen Oversight of Police Department
Infrastructure Management
- Roads and Bridges, $100,000,000 shortfall
- Water Lines
- Impact of HSR and Transportation Center
Water Rate Hike
Hunt Library Sale/Long Range Plan
Property Rezoning/Higher Density Development
- Developer Fee Reorganization
- Form Based Code (Downtown Core and Corridors-Lite)
- Kimberly Clark Sale/Re-purpose
New Permanent Fire Chief
Labor Negotiations
Lawsuits Not Related to The Police Department
- City Liability
  - Traffic Accidents (this is most of them)
  - Public Injury (parks, sidewalks, etc.)
  - Employment/Discrimination (we’ve only heard rumors)
- Land Use/Consent Decree/Compliance
Downtown Gameplan
- Paid Parking
- Business Improvement District (BID)
- Conditional Use Permit (CUP) / Administrative Restaurant Use Permit (ARUP) revisions
- Code Enforcement
West Coyote Hills
City Attorney Rebid
City Wide Overnight Parking
FJC Football Stadium
CSUF “Collegetown” Expansion
Homelessness
- Fullerton Shelter
- Anti-Camping Code Enforcement
- Church-Run-Shelter Code Revisions
- County-Wide Permanent Supportive Housing Project
The Budget
- Sales Tax
- Parcel Tax
- Utility Tax
- Outsourcing
  - Police
    - Jail
    - Patrol
    - Dispatch
    - Other Services (Parking, etc.)
  - Fire
    - North County JPA
    - County Fire
    - Paramedic/Ambulance Contract
  - Library
    - County
    - Private
  - Parks
    - Public-Private Partnership
    - Sale/Joint Use Agreements (i.e. School District)
  - Public Works
  - Water Utility
    - Sale to Private Ownership
    - Contract for management
- CALPERS Participation
- Long Term Staffing Plan
Brea Dam Lease
Street Cars
- Harbor to Disneyland
- Transportation Center to CSUF
Marijuana
- Illegal Dispensary Closures
- Continuing Code Enforcement
- Municipal Code Revisions to Allow Use
Water and Drought Management
- OCWD Participation
  - North Basin Plume
  - Poseidon
  - Additional aquifer extraction/recharge
- MWD Participation
  - Twin Tunnels Participation
  - Long Term Water Rate Purchases
  - Colorado River Curtailment
Hillcrest Park Phase 2 and 3
Address Chronic Leak Culture
Property Sales/Use
- Basque Yard
- Others
- Redevelopment Wrap Up
Fox Theater Parking Structure
- Periphery Property Sale/Use
- Parking Structure Building and Funding
Mills Act

October 16, 2017Behind Closed Doors

Bad Neighbor!

by David Curlee21 Comments

Would you give neighbors access to your bank account?

No? That would probably come as a shock to some at City Hall where (at least) three City of Brea employees have been issued VISA procurement cards belonging to the City of Fullerton.

Fullerton and Brea have a shared Fire Department command staff. The Fire Chief, Deputy Chiefs, Division Chiefs, Battalion Chiefs, and an EMS manager perform services for both cities, even though they remain employees of the City where they came from. Those from Brea have been given the Fullerton VISA cards. Now, I can hear some people uttering phrases like “so what,” and “who cares,” and “what’s the problem?” I can help you with that.

Fullerton Fire Station 3 on Acacia Ave was the recipient of five La-Z-Boy recliners, on the City VISA card. The purchaser? Chris Guerrero, a Brea employee. The supervisor approving the purchase? Kathy Schaefer, another Brea employee. And where did the money come from? Fullerton.

The receipt raises another question because Engine 3, based at this fire station, only has a crew of three. So why purchase five recliners?

I’d bet money the extra recliners are for the CARE Ambulance employees based at Station 3. Nothing in the housing agreement between the City and CARE Ambulance talks about furnishings, so the recliners appear to be a gift.

A gift from Brea employees using Fullerton’s money.

April 27, 2017Chronic Failure

FPD Insults the Taxpayers Yet Again

by J F19 Comments

On Tuesday the City Council held a special Budget Workshop to go over options to keep us from going to insolvency thanks to CalPERS. All departments were asked to come up with cuts to their budgets in spite of the fact that public safety is the biggest driver of our debt.

Miraculously when forced government bureaucrats were able to find it in themselves to not throw tax money away. That it takes a fiscal crisis for the government to care about spending other people’s money is infuriating but not shocking. Ultimately most departments either offered to not fill positions or cut back on $50 boxes of paperclips or whatever frivolity they found.

FFD brought up the idea to negotiate a contract with CARE Ambulance to net the City a cool $1Million in new revenue. They qualified/blackmailed it by saying that they’d have to lay off 3 Heroes if that Ambulance idea was shot down. However, knowing that the council won’t let go of any hero staff at least FFD came to table with something. What did FPD put on the table?

They put up four police officer positions. This was so laughable that staff, during the presentation, reiterated that this wasn’t going to happen and was put there because FPD had to put something.

So FPD effectively offered to cut nothing. NADA.

Fitzgerald straight up said during the meeting that she wouldn’t vote to reduce Hero staffing. At a previous meeting she tried to save the paltry $48,000 for the horrible Behind the Badge PR nonsense and I doubt she’d even let us cut that $25K in legal fees given the choice.

The department, knowing that there aren’t three votes on council to reduce FPD staff, gave the Fullerton taxpayers the middle finger by not even trying to reduce their budgets. I don’t know, maybe don’t blow through so much ammo down at the range for starters ($58K/Year). Maybe end a few subscriptions or cut back on the pay-cations we send heroes on all the time. How about you stop beating people or wrongfully arresting folks and save us some settlement money at the very least? Something? Anything?

Nope, just a big old F-U.

An F-U to the taxpayers from the very people bankrupting us so they can retire 20 years before any of us with their ridiculous 6-figure pensions. The only thing worse than the Interim Chief giving us all the bird is Fitzgerald sitting up on the dais, her fake (R) self to blame for our ever increasing debt, going along with this hogwash.

They don’t want to cut personnel? Fine. Cut something. Come back to us when you want to act like adults and not petulant children unwilling to give up even one toy.

February 11, 2017February 12, 2017Behind Closed Doors

And the Award for Most Ridiculous Awards Show Goes to…

by Sean Paden37 Comments

While there is much in government to bemoan and criticize there is apparently much to celebrate as well, at least according to the Association of California Cities – Orange County, who are soliciting nominations for the Sixth Annual Golden Hub of Innovation Awards.

Yes, that’s right. The Government has an award show.

The ACC-OC is giving out awards in multiple categories, including Elected Leader of the Year, City Manager Leader of the Year, Innovator of the year and Public Private Partnerships of the year.
Last year’s winner for Innovator of the Year was the Anaheim Fire Chief who approved an ambulance system to respond to non-urgent medical requests, an “innovation” about fifty years behind almost every emergency response system outside out Orange County. Not to be outdone, 2014’s winner of the Innovator of the Year award was this guy:

The ACC-OC is a lobbying organization, ostensibly created to lobby on behalf of its member Cities in Sacramento, and prevent the passage of legislation harmful to municipalities, but their actual priority seems to be lobbying Cities to implement the kind of statist, crony, public-private partnerships the organization itself prefers. For example, in one seminar sponsored in July 2015, ACC-OC advocated both streetcars and the Poseidon desalination plant in a seminar hosted by no less than Curt Pringle himself. ACC-OC also was one of the driving forces behind the HERO program, which facilitated construction of solar panels by converting the construction costs into high interest tax liens on residences (specifically, eight percent a year high, for a senior lien). So, not only does ACC-OC lobby Fullerton for bad legislation but we PAY them to do so with our own tax dollars.

That aside, in the spirit of this press release, can FFFF come up with its own nominees or, better yet, its own categories for the “Golden Hub of Innovation?” Maybe award Hugo Curiel Procrastinator of the Year for his failure to report the water loss at Laguna Lake until the statute of limitations against the civil engineer that performed the work had run? Perhaps a doublespeak award is in order for the fine folks at the NOCCCD for their efforts to claim that the football stadium they are trying to build with Measure J money isn’t going to be built with Measure J money. ACC-OC also needs a White Elephant of the Year award to honor tireless efforts of some staffers to push expensive and unnecessary infrastructure projects like streetcars, ARTIC or the “Great Park” in Irvine. Truly, the possibilities are endless.

January 23, 2017January 23, 2017About Us

JPA Business Plan: Prey on sick and dying people

by David Curlee4 Comments

Just watch the video.

“The ambulances will have to wait their turn.” Did you catch that last part?

Just the opposite will happen if the ambulance component of this JPA proposal goes forward. The ambulances will be going straight for your wallet, and more than ever before.

Yesterday, I talked about the JPA Feasibility Study authored by Citygate Associates LLC that showed little, if any, reason to merge the Fullerton and Brea Fire departments. A separate study on ambulance service was sought from a company named A. P. Triton, LLC.

The ambulance study makes its bias against private ambulance companies known from the very start. They denigrate private companies for making a profit, then propose ways for the JPA to do exactly the same, with rates far beyond what is being charged now.

The consultant spends considerable time salivating over revenue collection potential.

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January 22, 2017January 23, 2017Fullerton City Council

Blowing up the Fire Department

by David Curlee23 Comments

Casual readers of this blog may want to pay closer attention than usual.

Except this time, it’s the consultants wearing the turnouts.

This coming Tuesday, January 24, the Fullerton City Council will entertain a study session to review the merits of folding the Brea and Fullerton Fire Departments into one. If approved, the Fullerton Fire Department, and it’s 108-year history as we know it, would cease to exist.

Thanks to a 3-2 vote (YES: Fitzgerald, Flory, Chaffee. NO: Whitaker, Sebourn) a new government agency was formed with the City of Brea on October 18, 2016. The North Orange County Cities Joint Powers Authority is its name.

A merged Fullerton and Brea Fire Department would no longer be under the direct control of either the Fullerton or Brea City Councils. Instead, it would be governed by this new JPA — whose board members will be unelected. That is a board which is directly accountable to nobody. Two City Council members from each city, appointed by their respective City Councils, will govern the JPA. That’s not a typo — it really is two members from each city — meaning there is no tiebreaker vote.

The study session follows on the heels of a recent JPA Feasibility Study whereby the case to merge fire departments is rather weak.

We already utilize a shared fire command with the City of Brea. Fullerton’s projected costs under that existing arrangement are shown below, in blue. Fullerton’s projected costs under the JPA are shown in yellow.

The consultant, Citygate Associates LLC, says not to worry about the $300-400K annual cost increases under a JPA as those are within “model variance”. (Note: The above figures are in thousands)

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February 27, 2012I Aint a Swallerin That

Transient Involved in Physical Altercation with FPD Cop

by The Fullerton Harpoon127 Comments

Jeez, I think I’ve seen this movie before. Lot of the same actors, too.

A homeless guy named Mark Charboneuax was suspected of burglary and got into “fight” with cop – who bumped his head and got a free ride to the hospital. Charboneaux got a free ride to St. Jude’s, too, supposedly with minor injuries, but we’ll see about that, later. He’s wearing a neck brace and that may mean more work for Garo Mardirossian.

I note a few interesting things. Apart from Andrew Goodrich’s statements that we can now immediately discard as self-serving trash, another cop, this time a ranking officer is quick to point out the cop’s injury is minor and he’ll be fine.

The point of this post is that even random interaction between the FPD and the public are now scrutinized and the statements issued by Goodrich & Co. are rightly subjected to skepticism and cynicism.

December 5, 2011"Dick" Ackerman

A Peaceful Family Town

by Mr. Peabody78 Comments

JonesMouthOpenFor Business — Oooh, they's bad, bad men!

The anti-recall chuckleheads are trying to scare their few dozen elderly supporters with the notion that the Recall is some sort of scary thing that will upset the applecart in good, ol’ Stepford.

The shameful fact is that Don Bankhead and Dick Jones turned downtown Fullerton into a boozy free-for-all with fights, rapes, and killings; and Pat McKinley sent in his goon squad of misfits, thugs, perjurers and killers to keep order in Jones’ “New West.”

Here’s the latest black-eye for Fullerton, a cabbie stabbed twice at Amerige and Harbor.

When are the folks of Fullerton going to wake up to the mayhem wreaked on their peaceful family town by Mssrs. Bankhead, Jones and McKinley?

Real soon, I reckon.

February 28, 2011February 28, 2011Orange County Government

911…Please Send Help Immediately!

by admin23 Comments

Here’s a bit of exciting news coming out of the County Health Care Agency that is the local entity that oversees Emergency Medical Service provision. A new trend may be emerging.

It’s about the idea contracting with private service providers for paramedic services. The model is pretty simple: the paramedic goes with the ambulance, not with one of a city’s fire engine companies, who necessarily escorts their paramedic to an accident scene then has to toodle on over to the hospital to pick up their boy who has meanwhile accompanied the private ambulance to the ER.

And never a fire in sight; a fire crew mostly just driving around in their big shiny engine, sight-seeing.

The present scenario is so dysfunctional it’s amazing that it has lasted as long as it has. And that’s a backwards tribute to the “firefighter” lobby who knew fires were decreasing a long time ago and got their foot in the paramedic door; and to the supine politicians who let them do it.

But, as they say, that was then. And this is now. Municipalities are being crushed under the burden of “public safety” salaries and pensions and the current way of doing things is apparently no longer deemed to be carved in stone.

Amen. Maybe we can all be Hero now!