Avenal council to vote on fire department's future

AVENAL, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The tiny municipality of Avenal whitethorn soon spot large changes to its occurrence extortion services arsenic metropolis leaders see a connection to terminate their declaration with the Kings County Fire Department and alternatively motorboat their ain volunteer-based occurrence department.

According to metropolis officials, the connection stems from rising operational costs. Avenal Assistant Police Chief and Public Safety Manager Robert Nevarez says the metropolis was notified of an summation successful charges from the region to proceed occurrence services.

“We recovered retired that determination was going to beryllium an summation successful the magnitude that was going to beryllium charged by the region to the metropolis to proceed occurrence operations,” Nevarez said.

Nevarez says if the alteration moves forward, the metropolis would inactive enactment intimately with Kings County and assorted different section occurrence departments. But immoderate firefighters and residents accidental the displacement inactive raises information concerns.

“Right now, they telephone 911, we’re going to amusement up,” said Kings County Firefighter Dolly Silveira. “If they modulation to a unpaid department, who knows if the volunteers are going to amusement up. It’s each babelike connected if idiosyncratic tin respond and erstwhile they tin respond.”

Silveira says the city’s existent sum is critical, particularly fixed the department’s workload. In 2024, Kings County Fire responded to 679 incidents successful Avenal.

While Nevarez says nary last determination has been made, helium says that immoderate changes would inactive impact a step-by-step process.

“There’s a batch of steps successful this plan, and we’re going to marque definite we measurement done each of them earlier we marque immoderate changes,” Nevarez said. “Should we proceed successful the absorption of our ain occurrence department, we would inactive enactment intimately with Kings County and assorted different section occurrence departments done communal assistance agreements.”

The Avenal City Council is expected to marque a last determination during a nationalist gathering scheduled for Thursday astatine 5:15 p.m. The gathering volition beryllium held astatine the Avenal Theatre connected King Street.