Guest Opinion | Chad Augustin: Planning for the Future Begins Now

This November, Pasadena residents have an important decision to make that will impact our community for years to come. Measure PFD is on the ballot, and if passed, it would provide dedicated funding for Pasadena’s fire and emergency medical services through an annual assessment of 19 cents per occupied square foot of property. For an average 1,600-square-foot residence, this amounts to around $300 annually, or about 82 cents a day. This will generate $22 million per year to fund critically needed fire department infrastructure, year-round brush clearance, and additional firefighters to serve our Pasadena community. Because this special tax is dedicated only to the fire department, it needs a two-thirds vote to pass.

Residents deserve a thoughtful, fact-based discussion about this measure. They are right to ask what this measure will cost, how the money will be spent, and what protections it provides. Those questions deserve clear answers. As you read opinion pieces and online forums about Measure PFD, I encourage you to consider whether the information being shared accurately reflects the measure on the ballot, including its exemptions for qualifying seniors and low-income households, independent annual audits, and public spending disclosures. I also encourage you to hear directly from the professionals responsible for delivering Pasadena’s fire and emergency medical services today. My support for Measure PFD comes from 30 years of providing fire and medical care and firsthand knowledge of the demands our department faces.

I moved to Pasadena almost six years ago and fell in love with this community. Pasadena is a remarkable place, and I believe our Fire Department is one of the things that make it so special. Every day I see how deeply our Pasadena firefighters, paramedics, and professional staff care about the people they serve. For them, this work is more than a job; these individuals have a strong desire to truly provide this community with the best fire and medical service possible. Unfortunately, the majority of the fire stations in Pasadena are in very poor condition. Many of the fire stations in Pasadena were built in the 1950s and the needs of today are drastically different than 75 years ago. In fact, two stations do not meet seismic standards and are at risk of serious damage in an earthquake.

The Eaton Fire highlighted the need for Pasadena to plan and be prepared for the next disaster that will come our way.

We cannot know whether Pasadena’s next major emergency will be a wildfire, earthquake, wind event, or something we have not yet anticipated. What we do know is that when it happens, our community will expect its Fire Department to be ready to answer the call.

Today, Pasadena has fewer firefighters on duty than it did 75 years ago. In that time, 911 emergency calls have increased tenfold. Measure PFD will provide 36 additional firefighters over the next 10 years to ensure that we as residents can have the best emergency response in our time of need. Unfortunately, the current fire stations are bulging at the seams and cannot accommodate even a single additional firefighter or emergency response vehicle. That infrastructure challenge is directly connected to our ability to grow responsibly as a city. As a community that will add thousands of additional housing units and residents over the next 10 years, fire and medical response should be a top priority.

In an emergency, seconds count and response times truly matter. Today, your Pasadena Fire Department not only arrives quickly, but also has the training to perform at the highest level possible. Their training and professionalism have a huge impact on our survivability and quality of life.

Recently, the American Heart Association honored Pasadena Fire for excellence in cardiac and stroke care. In Pasadena, patients experiencing cardiac arrest are among the strongest survival outcomes outside of a hospital. They are 2.3 times more likely to survive a cardiac arrest with a positive neurological outcome in Pasadena than anywhere in L.A. County and nearly twice as likely as the entire state of California. This doesn’t happen by chance. Your Pasadena Fire Department works incredibly hard with Huntington Hospital and community partners to teach community CPR.

This measure will ensure that lives and property will be saved for years to come. In my 30 years providing fire and medical care, I have heard many family members tell me they would pay any amount of money for us to have arrived sooner so they could have another day with their loved one. Those experiences stay with you. They are also why I believe so strongly in preparing before an emergency occurs rather than wishing afterward that we had done more.

In a structure fire, seconds also matter. If firefighters can arrive quickly and keep the fire from spreading past the room of origin, the property can be saved. For our business community, this measure is very important. Statistically, 40% of businesses that catch fire never reopen. Another 25% reopen and then close within a year. The value of having highly trained professional firefighters that can arrive timely cannot be overstated. Fire protection is not only about protecting buildings. It is about protecting livelihoods, jobs, memories and the fabric of a community.

Threats to our health and well-being are emerging at such a rapid pace. The Eaton and Palisades fires were more devastating and costly than the previous top five fires in California history combined. We must work together to protect our community and be even more prepared for the future.

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation being said about Measure PFD by individuals that do not want this measure to pass. Rather than accepting this at face value, I encourage you to get informed about Measure PFD. Ask the hard questions. Talk to your councilmember. Invite the fire chief and city manager to your neighborhood meeting. And most importantly, stop by your local fire station. Meet the firefighters who serve your neighborhood, see the conditions they work in, and ask them what they experience every day.

I love this city. I am a proud resident, and I am incredibly proud of the men and women of the Pasadena Fire Department. They show up for this community every single day, often on someone’s very worst day. We owe it to them—and to one another—to make sure they have the people, facilities, equipment, and resources they need to do that job.

Planning for Pasadena’s future cannot begin after the next emergency. It has to begin now.

That is why I support Measure PFD this November. For me, this is about more than fire stations or staffing numbers. It is about the kind of community we want Pasadena to be prepared, resilient, and ready to take care of one another when it matters most.

Chad Augustin, Pasadena resident, Pasadena Fire Chief