Newsletter
December News: Rounding Out 2025
Hard to believe 2025 is winding down, but the city has been busy at work, as always!
December 1, 2025
New E-Bike Ordinance & Classes
Since the State Legislature has neglected to regulate the sale or use of e-bikes, it has been left to each jurisdiction to try to manage the issue individually. This month, the Council will consider the second reading of a new ordinance that will give our Police Department the authority to:
Impound bikes
Address unsafe riding behaviors for bicycles and e-bikes
Enforce helmets for riders under age 18, under our Municipal Code
Most importantly, minors and their parent will now be required to attend a safety class when issued a citation. The City is also putting together a hands-on e-bike training course that will be offered through our Recreation Department. Newport Mesa Unified School District will be holding an e-bike study session at noon on December 10th, in their board room, at 2985 Bear Street, Costa Mesa.
Paint the Town Mural Unveiling
We had a lot of fun celebrating the unveiling of our new murals out in the rain with all of the artists and contributors! Thank you, Sherman Library & Gardens, property owners, artists, Jon Leonardo, Cory Schnitzer, Joe Geis, and Aaron Martinez, for bringing this project to life for our CDM Village!
Join us at the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade Opening Night & Fireworks Show on December 17th
Safety Spotlight: EMS Division Chief, Kristin Thompson
In 1975, NBFD began sending firefighters to paramedic school, becoming one of only a handful of fire departments across the state to cross train firefighters to provide advanced life support care outside of a hospital setting. They have been providing top notch service, leading the way in pre-hospital care and saving lives ever since. Newport Beach was also the first in Orange County to hire a nurse to work in the fire department 35 years ago.
EMS Division Chief, Kristin Thompson, an Emergency Department Trauma nurse for 17 years, has been in the fire service for almost 19 years. She shares that working in this role “is a rare and unique opportunity to serve an entire community and workforce, bring about changes in EMS delivery, as well as constantly be challenged to innovate, learn, and grow professionally and personally. Truly a position I am thankful for every single day I put on the NBFD uniform.”
NBFD responds to calls with a minimum of five personnel, staffed on one engine or truck and an ambulance. All eight NBFD fire engines, and one of two fire trucks, are staffed with at least one dual-trained firefighter paramedic and two firefighter EMT’s. NBFD responds to all medical aids with a minimum of five personnel, staffed on one engine or truck and an ambulance. A minimum of two units are sent to ensure rapid response times by the first-in unit, that enough personnel are on scene to properly care for (no matter the injury or illness), carry (no matter the weight), and load a patient as well as transport the patient to the hospital. On average, response time for medical aid within the City is less than five minutes.
The Department is currently on track to respond to almost 14,000 calls for service in 2025 (a 20% increase since 2016), with almost 11,000 of those calls requiring medical aid.
An additional 1,500 calls per year also involve traffic collisions and rescues, which usually have a medical aid or patient component to them as well.
Roughly 85% of calls for service have a medical aid component to them (cardiac arrest, heart attack, stroke, trauma, etc), caring for newborns to centenarians.
About 60% of responses for medical aid and transport are for Newport Beach residents.
Year after year, an impressive 98-99% of customer service surveys reflect that our firefighters, lifeguards and 911 dispatchers meet or exceed their expectations in response time, customer service, professional care, medical knowledge, and transport.
As we close out 2025, please join me in thanking our public safety personnel for their hard work and dedication, this year and every year.
