State California Established 1924 Employees 4,713 (2013) | County Los Angeles Annual calls 329,119 (2013) | |
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Country United States of America | ||
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 58 cities, including the city of La Habra which is located in Orange County and is the first city outside of Los Angeles County to contract with LACoFD. As of 2013 the department is responsible for just over 4 million residents spread out in over 1.2 million housing units across an area of 2,305 square miles (5,970 km2). According to Firehouse Magazine which keeps statistics on fire departments across the United States, the LACoFD is the 6th busiest department in the US, behind New York City Fire Department, Chicago Fire Department, Houston Fire Department, Los Angeles City Fire Department, and Dallas Fire Department. The department is commanded by Chief Daryl L. Osby with an annual budget of $939 million.
Contents
History
The Los Angeles County Fire Department began in 1920, and was known as the Los Angeles County Forestry Department and Los Angeles County Fire Protection Districts. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors enlisted Stuart J. Flintham to lead the new department, and directed him to establish a program for fire prevention and firefighting in the county. He succeeded in opening 30 Fire Protection Districts, which served, and continue to serve, towns and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Cities could choose to join the Fire Protection District by allocating property tax for this service. Cities formed as contract cities in the post-World War II period normally retained membership in the Fire Protection District. Following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, property taxes were capped at 1% and the Fire Department charged cities fees for services when annexation occurred. Properties within the district that are not covered under a fee for service arrangement also pay a special fire tax as a result of Proposition E, passed in 1997.
County vehicles assigned to the Los Angeles County Fire Department continue to list as registered owner the "Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County" on California Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork.
Emergency operations
The Los Angeles County Fire Department Emergency Operations are commanded by Chief David R. Richardson. The 4 Bureaus that the Chief Deputy oversees contain the bulk of the firefighting and rescue personnel and apparatus that the Fire Department provides, as well as the Technical Services Division. The 3 Operations Bureaus consist of the neighborhood fire stations and camps that are geographically based, while the fourth bureau has specialized teams that respond throughout the county. The 3 Operations Bureaus of LACoFD serve 58 cities with 22 Battalions and 9 Divisions. Each Division is commanded by an assistant chief, the only exception being the Lifeguard Division, which is led by the Chief Lifeguard.
Fire suppression camps
The LACoFD has 8 fire camps with handcrews which are used for both fire prevention and wildland firefighting. In 2013, to help combat jail crowding as well as increase time served by serious criminal offenders, Los Angeles County sent more than 500 inmates to firefighting camps in mountain and foothill areas. Inmates assigned to the camps are nonviolent offenders who have completed physical and security screenings. They are trained by county firefighters to help fight fires and assist with clearing brush and debris. The camps are run in conjunction with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
Lifeguard Division
The Los Angeles County Lifeguards are an entity within the Los Angeles County Fire Department, serving the 72 miles (116 km) coastline that Los Angeles County shares with the Pacific Ocean. As of 2013 the division employed 151 year-round lifeguards with an additional 630 seasonal lifeguards for the busy summers. These personnel staff the 159 lifeguard towers and 23 stations. All lifeguards are EMT certified and have training in rescue boat operations as well as swift water rescue.
US&R
The LACoFD sponsors one of the eight FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces in California. The team is made up of members of the department that have been through additional training in search and rescue in damaged or collapsed structures as well as in areas that have sustained significant flooding.
Apparatus
The Los Angeles County Fire Department utilizes a wide array of fire apparatus, including Engines, Quints, Trucks, Light Forces (Combination of an Engine and a Quint), Paramedic Rescue Squads, Water Tenders, Patrols as well as Hazardous Materials Squads and US&R Units. County Fire Apparatus are painted reddish-orange as opposed to Los Angeles City Fire Department which are fire engine red.
Tillers
While many modern fire departments have opted to go with trucks/quints that have rear-mounted ladders, the LACoFD has chosen to stay with tiller trucks because of their enhanced maneuverability in tight areas. The benefit of a quint is that it also has a built in pump and water tank and can thus operate without an engine.
Helicopters
The LA County Fire Department has 9 helicopters available for search and rescue as well as aerial firefighting. With the exception of Copter 10 which is used primarily for command purposes, all copters are outfitted with water drop tanks for aerial firefighting and hoist for rescue. The headquarters for the Air Operations Section is located at Barton Heliport, next to Whiteman Airport in Pacoima.
Paramedic Rescue Squads
The department provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) emergency care through the use of 2-person paramedic squads. These units carry both basic and advanced life support equipment, forcible entry tools, rotary and chainsaws and other emergency equipment. Squads are staffed by 2 paramedic firefighters. The department also has several Heavy Squads. Heavy Squads carry all the same equipment as the regular squads, they also carry additional equipment for Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI), such as 14 backboards, extra oxygen and additional medical supplies.
The department does not transport patients via ground ambulances but contracts with Care Ambulance Service, American Medical Response, Cole-Schaefer Ambulance Service, and McCormick Ambulance to provide medical transport.
Stations and apparatus
As of February 2015 this is the current breakdown of the LACoFD apparatus and stations. It is collated from multiple sources including FireDepartment
In popular culture
The Los Angeles County Fire Department has been featured in multiple different television series.