Avenal residents urge supervisors to keep Kings County Fire in town

A string of public comments at the Kings County Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 4 meeting centered onAvenal’s recent transition from county fire protection to a new municipal fire department. Several residents described incidents they said show the new department is unprepared and asked the board to delay any county withdrawal.

Ginger Wallace, who identified herself as a resident of Avenal, urged supervisors to “allow Kings County Fire Department to continue providing fire protection to our community until the Avenal municipal fire department [is] fully prepared,” saying she had “personally witnessed” four incidents that raised safety concerns. She cited a structure fire where the city crew could not get water flowing and an instance she described as poor patient transfer technique that preceded her mother’s death. Delilah Barajas said she watched crews struggle to get water to hydrants and that “before we know it, fire is being turned off” only after Kings County units arrived.

Other speakers echoed that plea. Veronica Loya, participating remotely, said the community’s “lived experience is not something we want to put our lives on” and asked officials to “please consider keeping the guys there” from Kings County Fire. Several commenters tied their concerns to training and coordination problems they had observed and described a sense that the new department’s credentials “look good on paper” but have not translated to consistent field performance.

The board accepted the comments as part of the unscheduled‑appearances period; commenters included written statements that were made part of the record. No formal board action on Avenal’s service arrangement was taken during the public‑comment period; related agenda items and closed‑session litigation were noted elsewhere on the agenda.