ENCINITAS, Calif. --
Residents of the community of Olivenhain packed Encinitas City Hall on Wednesday and demanded help from the city to solve what they call a life-and-death situation.
Olivenhain residents said they are upset about what they call unacceptable fire and medical response times for their community, which is east of Encinitas. The problem is that four out of Encinitas' five fire stations are located near the coastal part of the city and miles from Olivenhain.
"These are people and homes, not dots on a map. You cannot discount children and parents and downgrade their worth," said Olivenhain resident Tom Swanson.
Last month, Olivenhain resident Matt Battiata's 2-year-old son had a seizure. Battiata said he called 911 and waited.
"It didn't take four minutes. It didn't take eight minutes. It didn't take 10 minutes. It took about 15 minutes for the paramedics to get there," he said.
Even though Olivenhain is a semi-rural community, it is a part of Encinitas.
"We are not part of the outlying community. We are part of the city, the incorporated city of Encinitas," said Olivenhain resident Tony Brandenburg.
But with tight city finances, the question is whether other Encinitas residents have to pay to build a new fire station in Olivenhain.
"Well, first of all, we pay taxes too and the last time I checked they were a pretty good amount because most of us do have a little larger lots," said Olivenhain resident Diane Zettel.
Encinitas Fire Chief Mark Muir said the city is looking at some temporary measures to help ease the situation.
"Possibly a joint fire station… we're also looking at moving one of our ambulances out there," said Muir.
Now, the council will take the information and comments they received at Wednesday's meeting and schedule a formal vote on what to do about the situation in Olivenhain.
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