Compton Fire Chief Jon Thompson was placed on leave as the city launched an investigation into breakdowns in the fire agency’s management of emergency medical care.
City Manager Johnny Ford told the Los Angeles Times that officials would examine how most city fire trucks and ambulances came to be stripped of defibrillators, a crucial lifesaving device that rescuers use to deliver a shock to try to restart the heart of cardiac arrest victims.
County regulators forced Compton fire officials to remove the devices last week after the city was unable to produce documentation showing that firefighters had been properly trained to use the equipment.
The county’s decision came after The Times reported Wednesday that nearly one in four Compton firefighters lacked a permit to perform emergency medical care, a key credential required by other local fire agencies.
Former Fire Chief Rico Smith will take over day-to-day management of the department and serve as interim chief, Ford told the newspaper. Thompson will continue to be paid while on leave, he said.
Ford declined to say how long he thought the investigation would take or whether Thompson, who was placed on leave Tuesday, would return to the job.
Smith, 65, served as Compton’s fire chief for four years, leaving the office in 2007. In an interview with the Times, he vowed to restore the city’s certifications and get defibrillators back on fire apparatus.
Fire officials are still struggling to restore emergency medical technician licenses that lapsed for 17 of the city’s 74 firefighters, including Thompson, The Times reported. Each member of the group has completed a refresher course, but only one has scheduled and passed the final exam to renew an EMT license.
—Staff and wire reports