BAYOU VISTA — Starting today, Bayou Vista residents will have one medically trained firefighter manning the station day and night during the week, officials said.

A city councilman, however, blasted the plan for the canal community, saying the paid, two-man day crew worked best because most volunteers have day jobs but are available at night.

Volunteer Fire Chief T.J. Lyke said he recommended breaking up the two-man daytime crew to give residents one firefighter during the day and one at night.

There will now be a firefighter to roll the firetruck from the station Monday through Friday to an emergency medical or fire call, Lyke said.

He also said changes in scheduling will prohibit firefighters working back-to-back shifts to avoid a similar situation that led to a missed medical call last month.

“Most work other firefighting jobs in Texas City, La Marque or Houston,” Lyke said. “The scheduling wasn’t done accurately, to give firefighters time to get to the job.”

Lyke said the city’s fire board endorsed the change.

“The board said, ‘It’s your ball, so run it the way you feel it needs to be run,’” Lyke said. “We can’t tolerate a gap in response, and we can’t budget two (paid) firefighters for the day and one at night.”

Councilman Chris Gimenez, who was on the fire board when it in 2007 implemented the paid, two-man day crew, said Lyke’s decision was a set back.

Gimenez said the day crew ran smoothly, inspected and returned the city’s canal water pumping system to working order and provided better emergency medical response — all two-man jobs — he said.

“The new standard for chest compressions is 100 per minute,” Gimenez said of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. “If we have to wait 10 minutes for an ambulance, one firefighter could get exhausted.”

A second firefighter could also retrieve additional medical equipment from the truck, Gimenez said.

“The goofy thing is, this is not satisfying the needs of the day or night shift,” Gimenez said. “It’s more of a control issue than anything, and I think it’s sad for the city of Bayou Vista.”

Gimenez said Lyke assumed the role of directing the day crew, a role that wasn’t in his original job description.

He said Lyke was originally asked only to organize the volunteers, who provide much needed assistance to the department.

“He has tried to take on more than what he is, in my opinion, capable of doing,” Gimenez said. “That’s not a slight against T.J. He just doesn’t have the contacts.”

Originally, oversight of the paid daytime crew was supposed to fall to the department’s fire coordinator.

The city replaced former fire coordinator Tim Johnson, a Galveston firefighter, with Kevin Leago, who is councilman Ross Leago’s son.

Gimenez said Johnson was doing an exceptional job but resigned.

Mayor Ed Flanagan said Leago, a full-time firefighter in the Houston area, is qualified for the position.

“Ninety percent of our calls are emergency medical calls,” Flanagan said. “I talked with the (former) fire coordinator. His objection wasn’t with medical calls, it was with fire calls.”

Flanagan said the average response time for an ambulance to arrive in the city is four minutes.

Flanagan also said even with two firefighters on staff, fire response was limited.

Before firefighters can enter a burning home, safety regulations require two firefighters outside for every two inside in case the firefighters need rescuing.

Even with two paid firefighters during the day, they still had to wait on volunteers or other agencies before entering a burning home, Flanagan said.

“I’ve been told by the chief that he has volunteers to work those shifts,” Flanagan said. “I don’t think it will be a problem.”