PAUL EAKINS
Press - Telegram

LONG BEACH - Eight Long Beach fire stations will be affected by "rolling brownouts" starting today.

Although none will technically be closed, one station will lose a fire engine on a rotating basis each day, fire officials said Thursday. The eight stations will each still have either an ambulance, a ladder truck or both on duty, officials said.

"We look to see if that facility has multiple units assigned to it, because we are trying to avoid making a station completely empty," Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Reeb said about how the brownout stations were determined.

However, with an engine out, neighboring fire stations will have to cover the areas that are protected by the brownout stations. Fire officials have said that the brownouts could lead to a possible increase in response times.

Other cuts - the elimination of an ambulance at Station 12 in North Long Beach, an engine at Station 1 downtown and an engine at Station 14 by Colorado Lagoon - will mean no Long Beach fire stations have more than one engine any longer, Reeb said.

He said that the Fire Department will move resources around similarly to the system it uses now during an emergency incident.

"Even during the day, the station where that unit has been browned out could be temporarily filled," Reeb said. "Think about it as chess pieces on the board that get constantly moved around to protect the city."

The first fire station that will be affected today is Station 9, located at 3917 Long Beach Blvd. just south of Virginia Country Club in Bixby Knolls.

That information was shared by Fire Chief Alan Patalano on Wednesday, but on Thursday fire officials wouldn't say which other seven of Long Beach's 24 fire stations will also face brownouts.

"I'm not going to advertise where those locations are because of Homeland Security," Reeb said.

The cuts to the Fire Department are part of citywide budget reductions that the City Council approved in September to eliminate an $18.5 million general fund deficit.

Overall, the number of firefighters on duty at any given time citywide will drop from 133 to 126 because 21 vacant fire positions are being eliminated from the budget.

The city could yet put a stop to the brownouts, but that will depend upon officials reaching a deal with the Long Beach Firefighters Association.

The Firefighters Association has agreed to a pay freeze that it says will stop both the rolling brownouts and the elimination of an ambulance, but city officials say the savings aren't enough.

Firefighters Association President Rich Brandt said Thursday that he is still corresponding with city officials about the proposal, which a slim majority of firefighters recently approved.

"I'm at a loss right now," Brandt said. "I can't change the deal that I brought to my members."

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September 30, 2010