by Ryan McDOnald
To mark the establishment of a new firehouse, the Los Angeles County Fire Department usually bestows a wood plaque with the bronze fire hose nozzle. To honor the opening of the Hermosa Beach location, County Fire Station No. 100, the plaque looks a bit different: the bear from the state flag strides in front of a lifeguard tower, surfboard under arm.
As of Saturday, December 30 at 8 a.m., Hermosa Beach will receive firefighting and emergency medical services from the L.A. County Fire. The city celebrated the transition with a ceremony at the Community Center Friday, honoring members of the soon-to-be-dissolved Hermosa Beach Fire Department and welcoming the county team to the city.
Mayor Jeff Duclos described the county department as “among the best and most cost effective in the world.” And he thanked the outgoing Hermosa Beach firefighters, who were sworn into the county department as part of the ceremony, but will likely be reassigned to another service area.
Every member of the department was able to attend the ceremony, thanks to members of the Manhattan Beach Fire Department, who manned the station and gave HBFD members a day off. Duclos’ voice became strained as he described the emotion he felt when he heard the siren of a Hermosa truck.
“I feel strangely assured, knowing that they are likely en route to assist, protect and care for someone in the community,” he said.
The transition ceremony had originally been scheduled for Dec. 6, but had to be rescheduled due to the large number of county firefighters assisting with the Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Blown by persistent Santa Ana winds and fueled by rain-starved vegetation, the Thomas Fire has since become California’s largest wildfire in recorded history.
Duclos, acknowledging the rescheduling, said it was emblematic of the growing demands placed upon fire departments.
“It not only speaks to the nature of a firefighter’s job, to respond whenever called upon, but the new reality we live in, when disasters can emerge an any time,” Duclos said.
Although L.A. County’s considerable resources were useful in battling the pernicious Thomas Fire, the “new reality” that motivated the switch for Hermosa is that actual firefighting now occupies a small share of the work of urban fire departments, who are now overwhelmingly called on to respond to medical emergencies. Amid this change, smaller, single-station departments have been folding into regional ones across the country. The situation became especially difficult in Hermosa, where budget cuts during the financial crisis made it difficult to backfill shifts in case of illness or injury, and made it harder for the department to recruit new firefighters.
Interim Chief Pete Bonano, who had previously led the HBFD in the ‘90s, returned to help the department after former Chief David Lantzer retired in September 2015. At that point, it was essentially clear that the existing arrangement was unsustainable, and the city had two choices: devote more funds to the department, or contract with the county.
Bonano helmed a lengthy process of study sessions and public meetings to frame the decision. Along the way, a citizen’s advisory committee and the Hermosa Beach Firefighters’ Association both unanimously endorsed the the move to the county. The City Council voted to contract with the county in April.
At Friday’s ceremony, Bonano said he felt confident in the city’s choice.
“All we have to do is look outside, and know this is definitely the right decision,” Bonano said. A row county fire engines and lifeguard trucks stretched along the west side of Pier Avenue from Ardmore Avenue to Pacific Coast Highway. (They were joined by Hermosa’s single fire engine, which will be repainted all red, to match the county fleet.)
Aaron Marks, president of the local firefighters association, used his “last acts” in that position to thank the county in aiding in the transition, and Bonano, for shepherding the department through.
“We don’t stand here today without him saying what’s right and what’s wrong, without him beating the drum of what was best,” for the department, Marks said of Bonano.
Noticeably absent in the ceremony was any evidence of enmity over a lawsuit that 13 Hermosa firefighters filed against the city earlier this month in federal court. The firefighters allege that the city miscalculated overtime compensation, and that they are owed additional money; the city has yet to formally respond to the complaint, but in a statement noted that firefighters are among the city’s highest paid employees.
L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said that the decision to eliminate a city’s independent department in favor of the county was never an easy one, and acknowledged that Hermosa’s move had faced questions during the process. But he promised that residents would not experience a disruption in service.
“Whatever needs the city has, we will meet them, and it’s our objective to exceed them,” he said.
