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In an effort to keep you up to date on the latest local, statewide, and federal fire issues, OC Firefighters send out monthly news clippings. This newsletter will help inform you about very important fire-related matters.
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OCFA Fire Station 20 ready for service at former site of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro
World War II veteran Bob Blankman, 96, of Orange, first set foot on the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in 1943, the year the base opened. Blankman, a U.S. Marine, had just returned from the Battle of Guadalcanal, where he loaded ammunition in .50 caliber machine guns on F4F-4 Wildcat fighter planes.
The planes long gone, the Great Park now occupies part of the site, and the newest addition to the 1,300-acre park is Orange County Fire Authority’s Station 20, which was unveiled to the public Thursday, July 19. Blankman was the guest of honor for the Station 20 dedication ceremony, and among the local dignitaries who cut the ribbon to culminate the festivities.
Station 20, the first fire station on the redeveloped Great Park space, replaces a temporary station on Trabuco Road that had served the area for years. It sits on 1.25 acres on the former site of the air station’s officers’ club, at 7050 Corsair, and is staffed with a paramedic engine company, a four-person truck company and a battalion chief.
“A fire station like this is going to be a real benefit,” said OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy, who has been with the agency for just over three months. “Adding the station further reduces response times and that is our primary goal … to get our firefighters to you as quickly as we can.”
The station also houses one of two OCFA hazardous materials response teams and one of three in the county.
*Excerpts from OC Register
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Video courtesy of Councilmember Melissa Fox
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Grand Opening of OCFA Station 61 in Buena Park
On July 11th, the OCFA and the City of Buena Park celebrated the Grand Opening of Station 61. The new station is replacing the original fire station that was destroyed in a fire last year. The 18,000-square-foot building will be home to Division Headquarters, Battalion Headquarters, Fire Prevention Field Office and an EMS Educator.
Station 61 will be staffed by a four-person Paramedic Engine and an Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Technical Truck. Additionally, the station includes a large classroom to accommodate division and battalion training for the region.
Station 61 is one of the busiest in Orange County, handling more than 7,000 emergency responses every year.
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2017 Orange County Firefighters Year In Review
We are proud to present the inaugural Orange County Firefighters Year in Review photo book! In 2017, our Firefighters responded to more than 141,000 emergencies throughout the 23 cities and unincorporated communities of Orange County - an average of 505 emergency calls per day. From wild land and structure fires to automobile accidents, this publication tells the story of our dedicated Firefighters, Paramedics, Pilots, Heavy Equipment Operators, and Hand Crew Firefighters who protect lives and property throughout the region 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3631 is honored to help showcase the courageous work performed by the First Responders of the OCFA. Click
HERE
to view the book.
A hard copy version of this Photo Book will be made available to all Local 3631 members who are able to stop by the union office during normal business hours. We are located at 1900 East Warner Avenue, Suite #G in the City of Santa Ana.
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Death toll mounts as wildfires rage across California
The death toll from the state’s wildfires continued to mount Sunday, with eight fatalities now reported from blazes burning in Shasta County and near Yosemite National Park.
In Mariposa County, where firefighters have spent weeks battling the Ferguson fire, officials reported that a firefighter based at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks died after being struck by a falling tree. Meanwhile, crews attacking the Carr fire in and around Redding said they had located another body — the fourth civilian to perish in that blaze — and reported that hundreds more structures were destroyed.
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V
eteran Long Beach fire captain is gunned down while responding to explosion at retirement home; 2 others wounded
LONG BEACH - A decorated, widely respected Long Beach fire captain responding to an explosion at high-rise retirement home was gunned down early Monday morning in a puzzling attack that authorities said was orchestrated by a 77-year-old resident of the facility, who possibly planned the ambush but whose motive remained a mystery. A second firefighter was grazed by gunfire and was expected to make a full recovery, and an elderly resident who was shot was in critical condition.
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Cleaning Lady, Firefighters Hurt In Bee Attack
LAKE FOREST - A 52-year-old cleaning lady and four firefighters were hurt Monday after they were attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees, leaving the woman in critical condition.
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'Suspicious' fire injures 3 at Santa Ana apartment building; resident detained
SANTA ANA - A suspicious fire that ripped through a Santa Ana apartment early Wednesday morning injured three people, one of whom was detained for questioning, authorities said. Orange County Fire Authority investigators believe the blaze may have originated in the apartment of the woman being held as a person of interest.
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Santa Ana police crack down on illegal fireworks
SANTA ANA - The Fourth of July is one of the busiest nights of the year for the Santa Ana Police Department. In an exclusive Eyewitness News ride-along, officers demonstrated how they work to enforce an illegal fireworks ban.
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Illegal Fireworks Burn Building, Cause Evacuations In Yorba Linda
YORBA LINDA - Orange County Fire Authority responded to a fully involved structure fire overnight in Yorba Linda on the right side of an industrial building. The fireworks apparently ignited multiple pallets creating an explosive fire, according to OCFA photos.
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Fire Damages Restaurant In Anaheim
ANAHEIM - A second alarm fire damaged a restaurant in a strip mall in Anaheim Saturday evening, authorities said. The fire inside the eatery in the 200 block of South Magnolia was called in about 8:25 p.m. when smoke was seen coming from the building's roof, said Sgt. Daron Wyatt, spokesman for Anaheim Fire and Rescue. Some 30 firefighters from Anaheim Fire and the Orange County Fire Authority were dispatched to the scene and knocked down the flames in about 25 minutes.
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Officials investigate four early-morning car fires in Placentia and Brea
PLACENTIA/BREA - The Orange County Fire Authority is investigating whether two pairs of early-morning, back-to-back car fires in Placentia and Brea on Saturday, July 7, are related, officials said.
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Firefighters find body inside burning car in Santa Ana
SANTA ANA - Firefighters extinguishing a vehicle fire in Santa Ana Friday morning found a body inside the car, officials said. The Orange County Fire Authority received a call about a vehicle fire around 7:20 a.m. in the 900 block of S. Hickory Street. The burning Prius was on the driveway of a home on Hickory near Beverly Place.
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Year-Old Drowns at Recreation Center Pool in Mission Viejo: OCFA
MISSION VIEJO - A child drowned Saturday evening in a Mission Viejo community pool, according to authorities. The parents and friends of the 1-year-old, whose name and gender have not been released, were visiting Sierra Recreation and Fitness Center when the child drowned around 6 p.m., said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito.
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Snorkeler Dies After Being Pulled From Water Off Laguna Beach
LAGUNA BEACH - A snorkeler died after being pulled from the water off Laguna Beach Saturday morning. The victim was pulled unconscious from the water at 1,000 Steps Beach by Orange County lifeguards sometime before 11:30 a.m.
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Teen's arm severed after boulder falls on him in Laguna Beach
LAGUNA BEACH - A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach on Wednesday, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
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OCFA Rescues Fallen Hiker on July 9 at San Clemente State Beach
SAN CLEMENTE - Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) officials rescued a 21-year-old man at about 7 p.m. on Monday, July 9, at San Clemente State Beach after he tumbled about 30 feet down a cliff.
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Videos courtesy of OC Firefighters and OCFA
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DANA POINT - The 24-year-old male was allegedly accompanied by another man who told OCFA the man fell to the cliffs below. OCFA Battalion 6 ground crews climbed half-way up the bluff where they packaged the injured man to be picked up by a helicopter rescue basket.
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Fourth of July parade horses rescued from trailer fire on Orange County freeway
SANTA ANA FWY - The Norco family heading home from the parade with their horses was driving northbound on the 55 Freeway near Dyer Road at 1 p.m. when their trailer ignited after a propane tank shook loose and began dragging on the ground, Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Capt. Tony Bommarito said.
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Police arrest arson suspect accused of starting 14 fires in Orange County
SANTA ANA - The Santa Ana Police Department arrested an arson suspect reportedly responsible for starting 14 area fires within the past month. Officers took 26-year-old homeless man Gustavo Garcia into custody at around 1 p.m. Friday after responding with the Orange County Fire Authority to a vegetation blaze that he allegedly started in Santiago Creek near the 900 block of West River Lane.
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Mission Viejo community and safety officials hang out at ice cream social
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2018 California Fire Tracker
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OCFA Board of Directors unanimous vote results in increased helicopter staffing
The OCFA Board of Directors voted Thursday night to appropriate $2.1 million to hire full-time staff which will provide for an additional helicopter in the air to fight fires. Spitzer who sits on the Board, motioned to approve this expenditure, which was unanimously passed. He has advocated for ways to increase OCFA’s resources given the extremely dry weather conditions of the past several years as his district has borne the brunt of recent wildfires.
Irvine Mayor Wagner Wants to Keep Fire Authority
Irvine Mayor Donald Wagner says he’s confident that, one way or another, his city will continue to be served by the Orange County Fire Authority despite its decision to leave the OCFA by July 1, 2020.
Facing Budget Problems, Garden Grove Considers Move to OC Fire Authority
Garden Grove city leaders are considering merging their fire department with the Orange County Fire Authority, a move aimed at cutting costs as the city faces a growing budget crisis and discusses a possible sales tax increase.
Irvine City Council, Tired of Being a Donor, Gives Notice It’ll Withdraw from OC Fire Authority
The Irvine City Council voted to tell the Orange County Fire Authority it may withdraw from the agency, part of a long-running dispute between Irvine and the Fire Authority over the city’s disproportionately large property tax contributions compared to the services it receives.
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OC Firefighters - IAFF Local 3631 | 1900 East Warner Ave Ste G | Santa Ana | CA | 92705
THIS MESSAGE WAS CREATED BY JIMMY BLACKMAN & ASSOCIATES.
Copyright © 2017 OC Firefighters, all rights reserved.
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