Orange County Fire Authority

Orange County Fire Authority

Agency overview
Established	1995
Employees	Career
Staffing	Firefighters 1079 full-time 213 reserve
Facilities and equipment
Stations	78 fire stations 71 Career 6 Combination 3 Reserve
Engines	110
Trucks	18
Ambulances	3
Bulldozers	3
Helicopters	4

The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for unincorporated areas of Orange County, California and cities that contract OCFA's services.

OCFA serves nearly 1.8 million residents in 23 cities and unincorporated areas from 71 fire stations. The OCFA Headquarters is located in the city of Irvine.

The current Fire Chief is Keith Richter, and the previous chief (1997–2009) is Charles "Chip" Prather.

History

Prior to 1980 the California Department of Forestry (now known as CAL FIRE) operated the Orange County Fire Department under contract. In 1980 then California Governor Jerry Brown cancelled the California Department of Forestry contract with the Orange County Fire Department against the wishes of Orange County. As a result, Orange County operated the Orange County Fire Department (OCFD) beginning May 16, 1980. Due to the incorporations of new cities and additional cities contracting with the County Fire Department, in 1991 the OCFD began exploring the possibility of reorganizing as a separate agency - first as a Special District and then as a Joint Powers Authority. The County filed for bankruptcy in 1994, which further encouraged Orange County Fire Department to reorganize as a JPA, known as the Orange County Fire Authority.

Operations

Operations Department

Orange County Fire Authority Headquarters

The Operations Department of the OCFA is responsible for directly rendering aid to the community. In 2006, OCFA responded to 79,718 incidents within its jurisdiction and 4,084 mutual aid calls. The department is split into six geographic divisions numbered I–VI.

Division 1

Division I is located in the western area of Orange County. It covers the communities of Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton, and Westminster; and the unincorporated communities of Midway City, Rossmoor, and Sunset Beach. Division I is covered by two battalions, Battalion 1 and Battalion 8, commanding 15 Fire Stations. OCFA's helicopter fleet, based out of the Fullerton Municipal Airport, is part of Division I. The air fleet consists of two Bell UH-1Hs and two Bell 412EPs.

Helicopter, Fullerton Municipal Airport

Station	Engine	Truck	EMS	Assigned Battalion	Chief & Special
2	Engine 2 (Paremedic Assessment Unit)		Squad 2	1	Air Utility 2
44	Engine 44 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		Squad 44	1
48	Engine 48		Medic Van 48	1
25	Engine 25 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		Squad 25	1
64	Paramedic Engine 64	Truck 64	Ambulance 64	1	Battalion 1
65	Paramedic Engine 65			1
66	Paramedic Engine 66		Ambulance 66	1
17	Engine 17	Truck 17	Medic Van 17	8
46	Paramedic Engine 46	Truck 46 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		8
13	Engine 13 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			8
41				8	Helicopter 1, Helicopter 2, Helicopter 3, Helicopter 4, Helitender, Water Tender 41
61	Paramedic Engine 61, Engine 303 (California Office of Emergency Services)	Truck 61		8	Division 1, Battalion 8, Swift Water Rescue 61
62	Paramedic Engine 62			8
63	Engine 63 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			8

Division 2

Division II is located in the central area of Orange County. It covers the city of Irvine; along with the John Wayne Airport, Emerald Bay, and University of California, Irvine. Division II is covered by Battalion 5, commanding 8 Fire Stations.

Station	Engine	Truck	EMS	Assigned Battalion	Chief & Special
4	Engine 4	Truck 4	Medic Van 4	5	Battalion 5, Hazmat 4, Hazmat 204
6	Paramedic Engine 6	Truck 6		5	Heavy Rescue 6, Investigator 6, Swift Water Rescue 6
20	20		Medic Van 20	5	Water Tender 20
26	Engine 26		Medic Van 26	5	Patrol 26
28	Engine 28 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			5
33 (John Wayne Airport)				5	Crash, 1, Crash 3, Crash 4, Crash 5, Foam Tender 33
36	Paramedic Engine 36			5	Foam 36
47	Engine 47 (Paramedic Assessment Unit), Engine 347			5	Dozer 1

Division 3

OCFA helicopters scooping water from Upper Oso Reservoir during the Santiago Fire (2007)

Division III is located in the southern and eastern areas of Orange County. It covers the cities of Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano; along with the unincorporated communities of Coto de Caza, Ladera, Las Flores, Modjeska Canyon, Trabuco Canyon, and Talega. Division III is covered by two battalions, Battalion 6 and Battalion 7, commanding 18 Fire Stations.

Station	Engine	Truck	EMS	Assigned Battalion	Chief & Special
5	Engine 5		Medic Van 5	6	Example
7	Engine 7, Engine 307		Medic Van 7	6	Water Tender 7, Patrol 7
9	Engine 9 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)	Truck 9		6	Swift Water Rescue 9
29	Paramedic Engine 29			6	Battalion 6
30	Engine 30 (Paramedic Assessment Unit), Engine 330			6	Patrol 30, Air Utility 30
50	Engine 50, Engine 350		Ambulance 50	6
59		Truck 59 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		6
60	Engine 60 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			6
49		Truck 49 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		6
16	Engine 16			7	Water Tender 16, Patrol 16
18	Engine 18 (Paramedic Assessment Unit) Engine 318			7	Patrol 18
24	Paramedic Engine 24		Squad 24	7
31	Engine 31		Medic Van 31	7
40	Engine 40 (Paramedic Assessment Unit), Engine 340			7	Patrol 40
42	Engine 42 (Paramedic Assessment Unit), Engine 342			7
45	Paramedic Engine 45	Truck 45		7	Battalion 7, Fire Command 2
54	Engine 54 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			7	California Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1
58	Engine 58 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			7	Division 3

Division 4

Division IV is located in the northern area of Orange County. It covers cities of Placentia, Tustin, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda; along with the unincorporated communities of El Modena, Orange Park Acres, Santiago Canyon, Silverado Canyon, and North Tustin. Division IV is covered by two battalions, Battalion 2 and Battalion 3, commanding 12 Fire Stations.

Station	Engine	Truck	EMS	Assigned Battalion	Chief & Special
8	Engine 8 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			3
14	Engine 14			3	Patrol 14
15	Engine 15 (Paramedic Assessment Unit), Engine 315			3
21	Engine 21		Medic Van 21	3	Water Tender 21, Patrol 21
23	Paramedic Engine 23, Engine 223			3	Patrol 23
27	Engine 27		Medic Van 27	3
37	37 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			3
43		Truck 43 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		3
55	Engine 55 (Paramedic Assessment Unit) Engine 355			3
10	Engine 10 (Paramedic Engine Unit)			2	Water Tender 10, Patrol 10
32	Engine 32		Medic Van 32	2	Patrol 32
34	Engine 34 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)	Truck 34		2	Battalion 2, Swift Water Rescue 34
35	Engine 35 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			2
53	Engine 53, Engine 353			2

Division 5

It covers the cities of Aliso Viejo, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, and Mission Viejo. Division V is covered by Battalion 4 commanding 6 Fire Stations.

! Station	Engine	Truck	EMS	Assigned Battalion	Chief & Special
19	Paramedic Engine 19		Squad 19	4
22	Paramedic Engine 22, Paramedic Engine 222	Truck 22		4	Battalion 4
38	Engine 38		Medic Van 38	4
39	Engine 39 (Paramedic Assessment Unit), Engine 339			4
51	Paramedic Engine 51			4	Division 2
57	Engine 57 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		Medic 57	4	Division 5

Division 6

Division VI is located in the center area of orange county. It covers the city of Santa Ana, California. Division VI is covered by Battalion 9 commanding 10 Fire stations.

Station	Engine	Truck	EMS	Assigned Battalion	Chief & Special
70	Engine 70 (Paramedic Assessment Engine)			9
71	Paramedic Engine 71	Paramedic Truck 71, Truck 971 (Relief)		9
72	Paramedic Engine 72			9
73	Paramedic Engine 73			9
74	Paramedic Engine 74			9	Battalion 9, Division 6
75	Paramedic Engine 75, Engine 975 (Relief)	Paramedic Truck 75		9
76		Quint 76 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		9
77	Engine 77 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		Medic Van 77, Medic Van 977 (Relief)	9
78	Engine 78 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)		Medic Van 78	9
79	Engine 79 (Paramedic Assessment Unit)			9

Operations Support Division

The Operations Support Division consists of the Emergency Communications Center (ECC), Community Volunteer Services (CVS) Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Emergency Planning and Coordination (EPAC), Special Operations Section, and the Operations Training and Safety Section.

The ECC houses the Dispatch Center which routes all emergency requests to individual OCFA units. The ECC also contains the Mapping and Geo-file Group which maintains and distributes the maps and station information that allows dispatchers to route calls to the correct station and provides fire stations with up-to-date maps of their coverage area.

Community Risk Reduction Department

The Community Risk Reduction Department is dedicated to proactively protecting the public by identifying and analyzing community risk; educating and informing; and developing, implementing, and enforcing regulations.

Investigation Services Section

This section investigates and reviews fires to determine appropriate intervention strategies.

Planning & Development Services Section

The Planning & Development Services Section reviews all architectural blue prints, development plans, and proposals submitted in OCFA's jurisdiction to ensure that they meet fire protection requirements for buildings and developments.

Risk Analysis & Mitigation Evaluation

This section identifies communities’ risks and creates appropriate mitigation strategies to improve the performance and effectiveness of community safety efforts.

Safety & Environmental Services Section (SESS)

SESS conducts fire safety inspections, enforces applicable fire codes and ordinances, gathers and maintains inventories of chemicals stored, handled, and used within the OCFA jurisdiction and coordinates hazardous materials emergency plans.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Orange County Medic 48 paramedic van.

There are 12 paramedic vans, 100 paramedic engines, 10 paramedic trucks, 23 paramedic assessment engines, 3 paramedic assessment trucks, 12 Basic Life Support (BLS) engines, and 9 BLS trucks staffed 24/7 by career personnel. 4 BLS engines, 8 BLS patrols, and 6 BLS squads staffed by reserve personnel on an on-call basis. and 3 emergency transports staffed by department personnel and numerous other private ambulance staffed by private personnel that provide transport and emergency medical services to all of the areas of Orange County covered by the Orange County Fire Authority.

Communications

Response Guidelines

The standard OCFA response for a structure fire is 3 engine companies, one patrol, one truck company, one paramedic van and one Battalion Chief.

Budget

The department has a General Fund budget of US$220.8 million for the 2006/07 fiscal year.

External links

• "Orange County Fire Authority". Retrieved August 24, 2006.
• "Orange County Fire Authority Apparatus". Retrieved August 25, 2006. - Photos of OCFA equipment