LIVES AT STAKE; OFFICIALS AIM TO SPEED EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

Acknowledging the San Fernando Valley gets slow paramedic service, Fire Department officials said Thursday that they are working on a plan to provide emergency medical care more than a minute faster throughout the area.

County health rules now require at least two paramedics on every vehicle, but Fire Chief William Bamattre wants permission to let fire engines and ambulances respond to medical emergencies with just one paramedic provided that a second paramedic arrives shortly after the first.

``The objective is to get our highest level of care as soon as possible,'' Bamattre said Thursday.

That shift would shave 1.2 minutes off the average paramedic response time for the Valley - which now averages 7.1 minutes compared with 6.9 minutes citywide.

The department will seek $2 million for the plan today at a meeting of the City Council's Ad Hoc Budget Committee, which is reviewing Mayor Richard Riordan's $4.2 billion proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, chairwoman of the council's Public Safety Committee, said she will press the budget committee for $1.5 million for Fire Department Air Operations and for $2 million to $4 million for other paramedic needs, particularly in the Valley.

``We have the longest response time and the biggest geographical distances,'' she said. ``I'm making sure the money is there to address the paramedic needs of the Valley and then we'll make sure the money is there citywide as well.''

The plan would ensure that every Valley station have at least one paramedic on staff.

Currently, five of the Valley's 35 stations have no paramedic and must borrow from neighboring stations in a crisis. Officials say that slows response times and forces the department to send more vehicles to an emergency.

Under the new plan, the first fire vehicle would arrive with at least one paramedic in less than six minutes, providing life-saving care in the critical first four to six minutes, fire officials said. The second paramedic would follow minutes later.

The first vehicle might bring a paramedic, authorized to perform life-saving invasive techniques and administer medication, or an emergency medical technician - a less highly trained medical professional limited to basic life support such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation.

The proposal is regarded as significant because medical emergencies are the main cause of calls to the Fire Department.

``Four out of every five runs the department makes are for emergency medical assistance,'' said Fire Commissioner and Valley civic leader David Fleming.

``That's when you need assistance in a matter of seconds or minutes. We want to cut down response time to no more than 5 minutes. Because if your brain goes without oxygen for more than five minute, your chances of survival decline precipitously.''

Fleming said that while the plan calls for at least one paramedic in every station, he aims to employ two paramedics at each station eventually.

The plan is still in development, and requires final agreement from county health officials, union leaders and city officials. However, the Fire Department expects to complete it this summer, and is asking the council to set aside money to cover the costs of several more paramedics, three emergency medical supervisors and other expenses the plan will entail.

The budget as it stands now provides funds for 12 new emergency medical positions, but that would cover technicians, not paramedics, said Battalion Chief Emile Mack.

In addition, the department is asking for $1.5 million for additional helicopter staffers, including a full-time Air Operations battalion chief, a chief pilot and other staffers including two full-time paramedics.

Currently, helicopter crews operating out of Van Nuys Airport have no full-time paramedics. Instead, they pull them from surrounding stations, causing delays in helicopter departures of up to five minutes and leaving gaps in the medical staff of those fire stations in the meantime.

A Fire Department internal report issued in January warned that such deployment could place paramedics without in-flight experience in life-or-death situations.

``Paramedics may be dispatched to perform as aeromedical crew members without regard to their aviation experience level, training in specialized helicopter emergency procedures or familiarity with certification in advanced in-flight emergency medical procedures and equipment,'' the report's authors wrote.

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PHOTO (color) Paramedics Marc Shapiro, left, and Tyrone O'Shea assist a car crash victim with Fire Department personnel Thursday in Reseda.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News