FIRE SUPPRESSION & RESCUE
Fire Suppression
The Fire Suppression Department is configured into three districts. First-call equipment is deployed to deliver initial fire attack and EMS services within 7 minutes. A standard first-alarm assignment for structure fires consists of two engine companies, a ladder truck company, a rescue or hazardous materials company and a Battalion Chief, for a total of 15 people. On working fires the response is increased to three engines companies, one ladder truck company, a Hazmat and Breathing Support company, one rescue company, two Battalion Chiefs, a Safety Officer, and a Duty Investigator, totaling twenty five (25) persons.
A second-alarm would add another two engine companies, one truck company, one rescue company, and an additional Chief Officer; total staffing for two alarms is then forty (40) persons. Wildland-urban interface companies are trained and equipped to provide structure protection and limited initial attack on wildland incidents.
A brush alarm for vegetation fires in wildland/urban interface areas consists of two engine companies, a Type 3 engine and a Battalion Chief, totaling nine (9) persons.
Daily emergency response staffing consists of seventy (70) career fire personnel on a 24 hour shift assignment, operating nineteen (19) pieces of first-line apparatus, plus three (3) Battalion Chief command vehicles, operating from fifteen (15) fire stations. In daily operations during declared “Fire Season,” patrols function in tandem with ladder trucks during daytime hours. This means that during the summer months, when the probability of a brush fire is high, the truck and patrol vehicle go out on calls as a pair. This guarantees continuous coverage of the entire area served, should another response be required during an alarm.
Rescue
GOAL: Control emergency incidents that threaten lives, property, and the environment.
- Arrive at the scene of emergencies within five minutes of receipt of alarm, at least 90 percent of the time.
- Maintain “Confined Space – Operational Level” training for all Department responders.
- Maintain “Rescue Systems I” certification for truck and rescue personnel.
The Department has four first-call ladder trucks and one rescue vehicle, which employ specialized equipment designed to carry out rescues such as traffic collisions and industrial accidents. All emergency response personnel are trained in specialized rescue techniques. All apparatus carry a compliment of rescue tools (County Fire Business Plan).
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