EDITORIAL PARAMEDIC RESPONSE RIORDAN RUSHES TO SAVE L.A. - AND HIS LEGACY.

TALK about slow response time.

At the end of his tenure as mayor, and nine months after the Daily News first exposed the city's paramedic shortage, Richard Riordan has finally arrived on the scene, plan in hand.

The mayor has offered a response to the public-safety crisis that has long been staring him in the face. He proposes hiring 81 new paramedics and purchasing 10 new ambulances, at a cost of $10 million.

If the City Council approves the plan, it would bring a belated but much needed bump to the L.A. Fire Department. The department now lacks the personnel to keep a paramedic in every station, which results in delayed response times that can make the difference between life and death.

With 81 new paramedics on the force, every station in the city would finally be manned, and that, no doubt, would save lives.

But would it be enough?

Although 81 is a good start, it's only the beginning.

Last November, a Los Angeles Fire Commission reported that it would take 500 new paramedics over the next five years to ensure a high level of public safety in the city. The mayor's successor, who won't have a legacy to worry about at first, is going to need to continue where Riordan left off.

That means tackling the city's problems right away - and not just at the last minute.

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