WACHS, FIRE CHIEF BACK PLAN TO DOUBLE PARAMEDIC RANKS.

Byline: Alexa Haussler Staff Writer

In an effort to ease the citywide shortage of paramedics, Los Angeles Fire Chief William Bamattre and mayoral candidate Councilman Joel Wachs on Monday urged approval of a long-term plan to hire 500 new paramedics.

``If ever there was a life-and-death issue in this city, it's the festering paramedic crisis,'' Wachs said. ``Lives are at risk, and the potential liability to the city is enormous.''

The plan, which the city's Board of Fire Commissioners is scheduled to consider today, proposes the immediate hiring of at least 50 already licensed paramedics to fill current vacancies and the recruitment of 100 trainees for each of the next five years.

Wachs said he will present the plan to the City Council in the next 30 days.

The five-year plan would cost the city an estimated $50 million.

``This is a very complex problem that is not something that you turn around overnight,'' Bamattre said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has a budget for 450 paramedics but has more than 50 vacancies. In the fall, the city hired 50 temporary paramedics to try to compensate for the shortage, which has forced employees to regularly work significant amounts of overtime.

Ken Buzzell, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, said the shortage has caused morale to plummet. He said, for instance, one station downtown receives roughly 25 calls during each 24-hour shift.

``They don't have time to eat. They don't have time to take a shower,'' Buzzell said. ``It takes a real toll on them, and we need to cut that workload.''