QUICK ACTION PREDICTED ON EMT CRISIS.

Byline: Jordan Smith Staff Writer

A day after Los Angeles paramedics told fire commissioners they are dangerously overworked, city officials said Friday that they expect a solution to come quickly.

``Most of this has been kept under wraps and now it's all bubbling up,'' said David Fleming, president of the fire commission. ``We've just got to do something about this.''

On Thursday, a subcommittee of the fire commissioners held the first of three scheduled meetings designed to address the paramedic and ambulance shortages that officials said pose a risk to public safety.

The next special meeting is scheduled for Sept. 28 in the San Fernando Valley. A time and location have yet to be determined.

In a series of Daily News stories outlining the shortage and risks, officials said the deficiency is largely the result of Mayor Richard Riordan's and the City Council's focus on the police at the expense of the Fire Department.

Ken Buzzell, president of the firefighters union, said he was amazed so few people knew about the shortage.

``Hello, like this is some kind of revelation,'' he said. ``These things have been ignored for years.''

Indeed, Councilwoman Laura Chick, former head of the public safety committee, said this process is long overdue.

``If my impression is correct that what is occurring is that key players are finally admitting there is a crisis, then I guess I'd have to say, Better late than never,'' she said.

``Key people in the council have repeatedly pleaded with the chief (William Bamattre) to tell us what the department needs. They've told us a variety of things . . . but it always came down to, Don't worry, everything is under control,'' she said. ``I'm beginning to think I've been lied to.''

Bamattre said he felt ``really positive'' about the first meeting, which he said highlighted the complexity of the problem. ``People need to realize that there's more it than just putting paramedics on ambulances.''

Bamattre said the one-plus-one plan, which splits paramedic teams between ambulances and engines, could be a short-term solution to the shortage.

The one-plus-one plan has drawn the ire of paramedics, medical professionals and union officials, who have said it would compromise patient care.

Since 1992, all paramedics must be trained as firefighters as well as EMTs, but Fleming said after Thursday's meeting that he questions whether this ``firefighter culture'' approach still works when 80 percent of the workload is medically related.

``Are we going to continue to only hire firefighters when a majority of our work is EMS? And if not, what will the ramifications be?''

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, chairwoman of the public safety committee, said she will sponsor a motion Tuesday to create a task force to help seek solutions.