Escondido Fire Department loses 12 positions

Yesterday, 25 Escondido employees became the first casualties of the city’s $6.7 million in budget cuts.

It was their last day, after they were given layoff notices June 11, although the City Council did not adopt a budget that included the layoffs until this week. Those eliminated included code enforcement officers, planners and the Fire Department’s entire team of 12 emergency medical technicians. No firefighter or police officer was laid off.

With the departure of the emergency medical technicians, the city will end its 10-year-old program that was instituted to supplement its paramedics.

The city will downsize its fleet of ambulances from five during the day and four at night to four during the day and three at night.

Before this change, the city operated a two-tiered ambulance system, one with more advanced life-saving equipment, staffed by firefighter/paramedics, and the other with basic equipment staffed by emergency medical technicians, who are civilians. The city will downsize the number of ambulances from five during the day and four at night to four during the day and three at night.

Now all city ambulances will be staffed by firefighter/paramedics.

“Everybody now will get Cadillac service,” said Mike Diaz, president of the Escondido Firefighters Association.

Fire Chief Mike Lowry said that, despite the hit, his department still will be able to answer the vast majority of the calls for ambulance, which averaged 24 a day in 2008.

“I have no doubt there will be a burst of calls, and we will have to rely on automatic aid from San Marcos,” Lowry said.
Story by The San Diego Union Tribune