Safety dispute prompts Kings County to end fire services in Avenal

AVENAL, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Kings County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Saturday to extremity the county's occurrence services declaration with the metropolis of Avenal, citing nationalist information concerns tied to a quality implicit a assemblage lawsuit venue.

The determination followed a disagreement betwixt the metropolis and the region occurrence main implicit the information of Avenal's Community Center, wherever an lawsuit organized by Underdog Boxing was scheduled to instrumentality place.

The region occurrence main deemed the gathering unsafe for the event, portion the metropolis said it had complied with requirements to big it.

City officials said they had worked for years to bring the boxing lawsuit to the Community Center and maintained that the metropolis met each obligations by issuing a impermanent certificate of occupancy.

The region occurrence chief, however, said that determination came aft helium had already concluded the venue was unsafe.

In response, the Board of Supervisors declared a nationalist information exigency and terminated the county's statement to supply occurrence services to Avenal.

Antony Lopez, the Avenal metropolis manager, questioned however the determination benefits residents.

"They indicated that determination was a menace to nationalist safety. The menace to nationalist information past resulted successful them pulling services retired of the City of Avenal. I'm not definite however that's helping oregon assisting immoderate nationalist safety," Lopez said.

Kings County Fire Chief John Chamberlin said helium did not expect the declaration being canceled but emphasized liability concerns.
"I didn't envision this having to beryllium a concern wherever the declaration would beryllium cancelled. But that was the city's determination to proceed this way. And from a liability perspective, arsenic the county, I can't presume that risk," Chamberlin said.

City officials argued that the determination places much than 13,000 residents astatine hazard and that the metropolis is moving with respective agencies to guarantee that occurrence prevention services stay disposable to the community.

Chamberlin said his section volition proceed to enactment the city's safety.

City leaders besides said information plans and unit were successful spot for the boxing lawsuit held astatine the Community Center.