SUPERVISORS ENDORSE PROP. E; FIREFIGHTERS TAKE ACTION TO HELP RESTORE BUDGET.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

About 300 firefighters and paramedics rallied Tuesday to urge the Board of Supervisors' support for Proposition E, a June 3 ballot measure to restore a chunk of the Los Angeles County Fire Department's budget.

The effort proved successful, and the supervisors' endorsement drew a standing ovation from the crowd of uniformed firefighters who filled the board room.

Fire officials are campaigning heavily for Proposition E, which would uphold a special property tax of about $50 a year. If approved by two-thirds of the voters, Proposition E would replace $51.7 million in benefit assessment money eliminated as a result of Proposition 218, which passed last year.

Fire Department officials warn that if the measure fails, 285 firefighters and paramedics countywide would be laid off and 20 fire stations - including two of the 11 stations in the Santa Clarita Valley - would close.

``We are all very deeply concerned,'' Fire Chief Michael Freeman said. ``We have all seen a choking baby who is blue in the face. With 20 stations closing, we are not going to be able to get there as fast as possible.''

Hundreds of notices of potential layoffs and demotions were mailed last week to firefighters and other employees should the measure fail. Freeman said 45 support personnel, including fire suppression workers and mechanics, also will lose their jobs. Nearly 300 other firefighters will be demoted.

Gerry Silva, a firefighter and paramedic who has been stationed in the Santa Clarita Valley for three years, said the cuts would hurt most during major emergencies, such as the Northridge Earthquake.

``What we're not going to see is as many firetrucks up there right away,'' Silva said. ``If we had another earthquake, we would not be getting that level of resources there that quickly.''

Silva, who works out of Fire Station 111 in Saugus, was among the 40 to 50 firefighters from Santa Clarita who traveled Tuesday morning to downtown Los Angeles.

Silva was not among the 615 Fire Department employees who received notice last week that they would be laid off or demoted if Proposition E does not pass. ``I'm down here to support those who did,'' he said.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said life would be lost if the funding isn't restored.

``If we have to cut one-seventh of the fire suppression and paramedic budget of this Fire Department, people will lose their lives who otherwise would have been saved,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``It's just a statistical certainty.

``The person who loses his or her life could be your son in an auto accident waiting to be saved by the Jaws of Life. Or it could be your daughter who got swept up in a storm drain or flood-control channel in the San Fernando Valley or in the San Gabriel Valley,'' the supervisor said.

``It could be your home - you're trapped in your home in a wildfire - your heart attack, your stroke, your baby choking on food,'' Yaroslavsky said.

He said if 20 stations close, ``the response time will nearly double, and in some cases more than double.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--ran in SAC, AV and CONEJO editions only--color in SAC and AV only) Los Angeles County firefighters take the Metrolink train downtown Tuesday in order to attend a rally in support of Proposition E.

(2--ran in SAC edition only--color) Firefighters wore get-out-the-vote buttons Tuesday for the June 3 election.

Terri Thuente/Daily News