There are ten different fire departments in Orange County and two departments outside of Orange County that are contracted to cover areas in the county. All twelve fire departments are part of a county wide mutual aid agreement that clears the legal hurdles for firefighters and fire trucks to respond out of their assigned districts. There are also plans in place that makes those responses automatic based on the type of call and size of the building. But firefighters don't just go to fires anymore. The ten departments in the county along with some of the county's Emergency Medical Services staff also work together to handle high risk rescues such as a trench collapse on a construction site. The "Special Operations Team" is made up of people from all ten fire departments, South Orange Rescue and Orange County EMS. The team works under the Emergency Management Division of Orange County Emergency Services to respond to trench emergencies. The team is currently working towards training in and developing a Large Animal Rescue capability with some help from Orange County Animal Control. So along with our staff being trained in all aspects of fire suppression and hazardous materials response, they are also trained in medical care, trench rescue, building collapse rescue, water rescue, vehicle extrication and soon we'll add large animal rescue. There are tremendous oportunities to learn skills and make the world around you a better place at your local fire department. Many departments still have volunteer oportunities and all but four of the twelve have career oportunities. If you are the parent of a rising high school aged person, are in highschool or are an adult looking for a place to call home, visit your local fire station and see what they have to offer you. It takes all of us working together to keep our communities safe.
