Avenal fire station to reopen after court ruling. For now, city regains county fire service
A court ruled that residents in the Kings County city of Avenal will have fire services reinstated after county officials terminated the city’s contract last month over a safety dispute involving the city’s community center.
Kings County Superior Court in Hanford ruled Wednesday that county fire protection services for Avenal must continue and that the city must follow safety protocol’s of the county fire chief and applicable fire codes.
Kyria Martinez, county executive officer, told The Fresno Bee on Thursday that the county expects Fire Station 12 to be fully operational by Saturday morning.
Avenal took legal action after the county terminated fire services at the end of March.
“The city feels vindicated. The judge sided with the community and the city, and we still require having fire services in Avenal as requested, making the county honor their side of the contract,” Avenal City Manager Antony Lopez told The Bee.
Lopez said the allegations about an unsafe event and the community center are still “completely false.”
Mayor Alvaro Preciado said the city sued because response times would have increased for the city to 20-25 minutes without mandated county service and that was not acceptable.
The court’s ruling saysb that future use of the Avenal Community Center must comply with fire and life safety requirements as determined by the county fire chief.
Lopez said the city will continue to move forward to establish its own fire department within the next few months and a peaceful transition between county and city fire services.
What happened?
The board of supervisors unanimously voted on March 28 to end fire protection services with Avenal immediately, citing a breach of contract.
Avenal filed a lawsuit on April 1 against the county seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) to force the county to provide fire services to the city for a period of six months.
On the same day, county officials stood by their decision to close the only fire station in the city of Avenal and said residents would receive fire services from the county, though response times may take longer.
The issue in question was whether the county could terminate fire services without providing the required notice under the agreement and without a responsible transition plan, city officials said.
On March 30, the city requested the county “honor its obligation.”
Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker sued the city of Avenal in December for alleged Brown Act violations over closed meetings in which officials discussed forming their own municipal fire department.
The county’s decision to terminate the contract took place after a public safety disagreement between the city and the county fire chief over the occupancy safety of Avenal’s community center ahead of a scheduled boxing event.
City officials said the county’s decision put more than 13,000 residents at risk, calling the county’s actions “bullying tactics.”
The city welcomed its new fire chief, Jacob McAfee, on April 1 and held a town hall meeting on April 7 for residents to meet McAfee in person.
