New Fire Department May Rise From Ashes

A divided City Council has agreed to spend $15,000 to study reestablishing the city’s Fire Department, which was disbanded two years ago in favor of a contract with the Orange County Fire Authority.

Mayor Frank Fry Jr. and Councilwomen Joy L. Neugebauer and Margie L. Rice said that if such a move is financially feasible, they would like see a city-run department brought back.

“We used to be a full-service city, and I have always been against privatization,” Rice said. “I think we should have control of the department.”

The 3-2 vote Tuesday authorizes a study by Hunter & Associates, a Long-Beach based firm headed by Chris A. Hunter, a former fire chief for Long Beach.

The study will provide cost estimates for firefighting, emergency medical services and fire prevention, officials said. It also will explore the possibility of acquiring fire staff from the Long Beach Naval Station after it shuts down later this year.

The report will be completed within 30 days, according to the contract.

Council members Margaret Shillington and Tony Lam voted against the contract, citing their support for the Fire Authority and the city’s savings of $1.8 million a year.

“I wish we wouldn’t go this route,” Lam said. “We had a lot of financial problems in the city” that were solved in part by the Fire Authority contract, he said.

The study is opposed by the Westminster Police Officers’ Assn.

Fire Authority officials said they are “puzzled,” by the council’s action, and affirmed the group’s commitment to the community.

Westminster’s city-run department was dissolved in 1995 after years of infighting between firefighters and city leaders. Several former firefighters filed lawsuits contesting their termination, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in judgments levied against city officials. Some of the legal battles have yet to be resolved.