Kings County Pulls Fire Services from Avenal Over Safety Concerns

Dispute over boxing event leads to termination of fire contract

Mar. 29, 2026 at 2:07am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Kings County Fire Department has terminated its contract with the city of Avenal after the city manager overruled the fire chief's safety concerns about a planned boxing event in an unsafe building. The fire chief deemed the building unfit for occupancy due to lack of fire sprinklers, emergency access, and power, but the city manager insisted on allowing the event to proceed.

Why it matters

This dispute highlights the tension between public safety and local government control, as well as the liability issues that can arise when officials disregard expert safety recommendations. The decision to pull fire services could leave Avenal vulnerable in emergencies until a new provider is secured.

The details

Kings County Fire Chief John Chamberlain raised serious concerns about a boxing event planned for Sunday in an Avenal building that has been under construction. The chief found the building lacked fire sprinklers, proper emergency access, and power, and deemed it unsafe for occupancy. However, Avenal City Manager Antony Lopez overruled the fire chief's assessment, leading the Kings County Board of Supervisors to call an emergency meeting and vote unanimously to terminate the county's fire contract with Avenal.

  • Kings County Fire Chief John Chamberlain inspected the Avenal building on an unspecified date prior to March 28.
  • An emergency special session was held by the Kings County Board of Supervisors on Saturday, March 28.
  • The Kings County fire contract with Avenal is set to end at 5:00 PM on March 29.

The players

John Chamberlain

Kings County Fire Chief who raised safety concerns about the Avenal boxing event.

Doug Verboon

Kings County Supervisor who announced the decision to terminate the fire contract with Avenal.

Antony Lopez

Avenal City Manager who overruled the fire chief's safety assessment and insisted on allowing the boxing event to proceed.

Kings County Board of Supervisors

The governing body that voted unanimously to terminate the fire contract with Avenal.

Avenal

The city that had its fire services contract with Kings County terminated over the boxing event dispute.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“There's no fire safety sprinklers. There's not enough emergency access. There's no power to the building. And so he deemed the building unsafe for occupancy.”

— Doug Verboon, Kings County Supervisor

“The city manager felt that he had the authority to override our fire chief's rule. And so we called an emergency meeting.”

— Doug Verboon, Kings County Supervisor

“If something does happen and we authorize them to be in a building and something happens in a building, we're liable. We don't want any liability for decisions that we have no control over.”

— Doug Verboon, Kings County Supervisor

What’s next

It is unclear whether the boxing event in Avenal will be called off following the termination of the fire services contract.

The takeaway

This dispute highlights the challenges that can arise when local officials prioritize event planning over public safety concerns raised by expert authorities. The decision to withdraw fire services from Avenal underscores the liability issues that can occur when safety recommendations are disregarded, potentially leaving the community vulnerable until a new fire provider can be secured.