End of Community Redevelopment Agency Could Mean More Money for LAFD

The president of the firefighters’ union made a plea to the Los Angeles City Council today for more money in the Fire Department’s budget, and pointed to an early morning fire that left a West Hills man badly burned as an example of what happens when public safety is underfunded.

At the same time, two councilmen instructed the city’s top budget officials to determine whether funds related to the Community Redevelopment Agency could be used for neighborhood fire services.

United Firefighters of Los Angeles City’s Pat McOsker used the public comment period to ask that funds be restored to the LAFD’s budget.

“It took us nine minutes to get there,” McOsker said of the fire department’s response to a 3 a.m. fire yesterday in West Hills. The fire in the 6500 block of Sheltondale Avenue caused $180,000 in damages and left a man in his 50s with second-degree burns on 60 percent of his body.

“Last year, we closed 18 fire companies and four ambulances due to budget cuts. One of the closed engine companies was the nearest engine company (to the West Hills fire),” McOsker said.

Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Mitch Englander introduced a motion this week to review whether funds from the soon-to-be eliminated Community Redevelopment Agency could be used to restore fire services.

“While we must ensure that funds accrued to the city by the dissolution of the CRA in part help fund job creation and economic development programs, the first priority for additional General Fund revenue resulting from the dissolution of the CRA should be to restore fire services to further improve the safety of our neighborhoods,” according to the motion.

At the same time, the fire department has issued a 12-page document outlining the impact of service cuts.

“There is a concern that at 3:14 in the morning, when a call goes in, we have sufficient resources to respond and save people,” Councilman Dennis Zine said.