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• Following the wrestling match, members began using the emergency self - <br />contained breathing tanks to air squirt each other, rendering the tanks <br />unusable for immediate emergency calls. <br />These reports of unprofessional and unsafe actions have been submitted to <br />managers and superiors during previous administrations, but have not acted <br />upon. Following several years of fielding complaints, the Emergency Services <br />Department (formerly Emergency Management) stopped investigating, as it was <br />clear that no action would take place. <br />Orange County Emergency Services staff including me, former Acting Deputy <br />Director Jeanette Jones and EMS Operations Manager Kim Woodward met with <br />OCRS board president Dan Seip and board member Cliff Cates in June. During <br />that meeting, we discussed the deplorable condition of the station, intolerable <br />situation, living conditions, and safety concerns at Station 1. We were reassured <br />that repairs and changes would occur and the instability of leadership would <br />settle. This has not happened. To date the front door was painted and curtains <br />were installed in the front dayroom area. The building remains dirty and unsafe. <br />The instances have been collected from several sources as earlier stated. It is <br />my intent by submitting this report to fully apprise county management of the <br />situation that has caused me extreme concern about the safety of the OCRS and <br />its members, the unit's ability to perform at the level the community deserves, <br />and the safety of fellow emergency response members as they provide critical <br />services to the community. <br />In summary, I continue to feel justified in ordering the safety stand -down in light <br />of the many safety and leadership infractions, misjudgments and poor decisions <br />of the OCRS that will given time and opportunity result in tragedy. I recommend <br />that a follow -up assessment of the unit's capabilities be conducted to: 1) <br />Determine what level of rescue service is needed in Orange County, 2) Establish <br />performance standards for all rescue services within state and federal safety <br />guidelines, 3) Develop monitoring and control measures to ensure compliance <br />with those standards and 4) Determine the best approach to deliver a system- <br />wide rescue service in Orange County. <br />8 <br />