Mathis Winkler
NEWPORT BEACH -- Except for the dark blue uniforms hanging in the
closet and a couple of hand-held radios on the desk, Room 207 at the
Radisson hotel wouldn't strike visitors as particularly unusual.
But in this case, the minor details make all the difference. Since
Monday morning, three Newport Beach firefighters have set up camp at the
hotel to improve fire services in the city's airport area and Santa Ana
Heights.
Previously served by the Orange County Fire Authority's Fire Station
27, emergency response times had dropped below the standard after the
station caught fire in December and county firefighters were moved to
another station on Gillette Avenue in Irvine. The fire, apparently caused
by a malfunctioning attic heater, left one firefighter slightly injured
and caused about $13,000 worth of damage, according to a statement
released by authority officials at the time.
On Wednesday, "Danger -- Do not enter" signs were still posted at the
building that sits near John Wayne Airport's runway at the corner of
Campus Drive and Dove Street. No date has been set to reopen the station,
said Capt. Paul Hunter, a spokesman for the fire authority.
Newport Beach Fire Department officials decided something had to be
done after monitoring services in the area since the fire and subsequent
move took place.
While county firefighters responded to 95% of all emergency calls
within five minutes before their own station became uninhabitable, the
situation flipped during the last five weeks. Fire engines arrived at the
scene of an emergency within acceptable response-time limits for only 5%
of all calls, said Tim Riley, Newport Beach's fire chief.
"The response times aren't that great," he said. "We took it serious."
City officials decided the situation called for immediate remedy.
While discussing the proposed annexation of Bay Knolls, Newport Coast and
Santa Ana Heights with City Council members at a retreat at the Radisson
hotel on Saturday, City Manager Homer Bludau brought up the problem.
Because state law doesn't allow council members to take action on
issues that have not been publicized before a meeting, the city's elected
officials directed Bludau to put the topic on the agenda for their Feb.
13 meeting.
Bludau acknowledged Wednesday that he had authorized the makeshift
hotel-room fire station as the city's chief executive without explicit
orders by council members. But in the interest of public safety, such
emergency action was warranted, he said.
