Corona del Mar Today: Original paramedics reminisce at NBFD luncheon
In 1975, Newport Beach, along with most other cities in the nation, didn’t have paramedics.
A study had shown that people were dying on the streets who would have survived on a battlefield in Vietnam. Firefighters had first aid training, but that could only go so far.
“Fill ‘em full of air and ship ‘em out — that was the saying,” recalled retired Deputy Chief Tom Arnold, one of eight members of the city’s first class of paramedics. “We were the first ones to get that advanced level of care we have today.”
Arnold, along with retired Battalion Chief Don Jones, visited the Newport Center Fire Station last week to visit current paramedics over lunch.
In some ways, not much has changed from 1975 to today. Seconds still count when saving a life. They work as teams, closely, like families. They cherish thank yous and video updates from patients they’ve saved.
But the original paramedics were pioneers, among the first in Orange County. They attended college classes for four months, with eight hours a day of lectures followed by tests the next day. They learned how to use I.V.’s and perform cardiac intervention. While they were training, nurses at Hoag Hospital also were learning how to give medical instructions over the radio.
Back in 1975, paramedics worked in teams of two and were based out of the Newport Center station on Santa Barbara Drive. They covered the entire city.
“We went everywhere in town,” Jones said. “We would respond to the Peninsula by taking the ferry. They knew if they heard sirens to clear the ferry lanes for us, and we’d go Code 3 across the harbor. That was a unique situation.”
The first patient they treated was a 74-year-old stroke victim on Oct. 8, 1975. They have no idea how many patients they saved, nor did they remember specific cases.
“I do remember the dramatic difference, what we could do before was very restrictive,” Arnold said. “It was very fulfilling, knowing you had the tools to save people’s lives.”
Instead of patching people up and waiting for a private ambulance, the new paramedics had emergency rooms on wheels.
“It became a team of people who worked together very well, in harmonious and quick fashion,” Jones said. “Making order out of chaos was pretty much what you’d do.”
More paramedics joined two years later, creating a second team and adding a third person to each shift. Today, there are three units stationed throughout Newport Beach, including in Corona del Mar, with eight paramedics on duty.
The paramedics were visiting as part of the Fire Department’s centennial celebrations.
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City officials attend CdM town meeting
Elected officials and city staff joined business owners and residents at Sherman Library & Gardens on Wednesday evening for the Annual Town Meeting.
About 150 people gathered for the meeting’s reception and expo, which featured information tables about bicycle safety, including a sample stencil of a sharrow, Neighborhood Watch, C.E.R.T. or the Community Emergency Response Team and more.
Attendees sipped wine and sodas and enjoyed snacks while they mingled and chatted. In attendance were Jim Walker, owner of The Bungalow, Ali Zadeh of the Port Restaurant, Linda Leonhard of the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce and B.J. Johnson, a real estate agent and community volunteer.
“We’re here to hear the business updates,” said Eliisa Stowell of the Brown and Stowell real estate team.
“There’s just a great village feeling,” said City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle. “It’s a great combination of people and information.”
The event included a program featuring updates from the Corona del Mar Business Improvement District, and information on bicycle safety.
Bernie Svalstad, president of the Corona del Mar B.I.D., said that within a few weeks, all 180 tree wells in the village would be landscaped as part of a B.I.D.-funded project. Currently about 40 tree wells are maintained by business owners, with the rest filled with bark and sometimes trash.
“We should see, for the first time in history, all the tree wells in Corona del Mar planted with beautiful flowers,” Svalstad said.
The CdMRA presented information on bicycle safety improvements for Corona del Mar, including adding sharrows in Corona del Mar. Sharrows are painted markings on roads that remind motorists that cyclists may be present.
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No competition at Big Corona
Competition apparently is not steep for the concession stand at Big Corona State Beach — just one application was submitted, city officials have confirmed.
The submission came from a company called Kilmer Enterprises Inc., said Evelyn Tseng, Newport Beach’s revenue manager.
Gordon Kilmer confirmed that he had applied for the concession stand, which he had run in from the early 1990s until 2005.
“It’s a great beach,” he said. “The city has run it well in the past, and it’s a great facility.”
Kilmer Enterprises ran the Big Corona concessions from 1991 to 2005. The Daily Pilot reported that the concession stand sat empty after a renovation and contract dispute.
Fuji Grill opened in the space in 2008 but closed last fall, citing the bad economy and parking problems.