Ventura County Fire Department

Ventura County Fire Department

Committed to excellence, delivered with pride.
Operational area
Country	United States
State	California
County	Ventura
Agency overview[1]
Established	May 11, 1928
Annual calls	34,779 (2012)
Employees	574 total (2012) 395 Safety 158 Non-safety
Annual budget	$126 million (2012)
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Mark Lorenzen[2]
EMS level	ALS
Facilities and equipment[1]
Stations	32
Engines	31 frontline 16 reserve
Trucks	3 frontline 2 reserve
Quints	1
Squads	2
Rescues	2
HAZMAT	1
USAR	1
Airport crash	1
Wildland	11
Bulldozers	9
Helicopters	4
Fireboats	5
Website
Official website

The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. Together, these areas compose the Ventura County Fire Protection District in the state of California, USA. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors is the fire district's board of directors. These five elected supervisors appoint the fire chief, and task him with providing fire protection services for the district.

In addition to the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, the department currently provides the following cities with service: Camarillo, Moorpark, Ojai, Port Hueneme, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks.

History

On May 11, 1928 the Ventura County Fire Protection District (VCFPD) was established. It wasn't for another two years that a 24-hour Fire Warden was placed on duty.^[3]

As the population of the county grew, the VCFD grew as well. In 1946 the department added radios to all of their trucks and rose to a total of 34 personnel. Nearly 33 years later in 1969, the department added a second radio frequency and added a full-time dispatch center at Station 31 in Thousand Oaks. Four years later in 1973, VCFD changed their engines from traditional Fire Engine Red to Yellow.^[3]

Apparatus

Engine and medic engine

Ventura County uses two main types of engines. The first is the standard engine, which is often referred to as a "triple-combination pumper" as it has a fire pump, water tank and fire hose. Each engine can deliver 1,500 GPM of water and carry 500 gallons of water. The engines also carry multiple ground ladders and different types of hose.^[4] The second type of engine is the Medic Engine. The only real difference between the medic engine and the standard engine is that the medic engines are capable of advanced life support with a firefighter also being a fully trained ALS paramedic.^[5]

In addition to the main engines, Ventura County also has reserve engines which are older engines kept as backups or for use on major incidents. Two of the counties reserve engines are provided by the Office of Emergency Services.^[6]

Wildland fire engines

Ventura County has 11 Type 3 wildland fire engines that are specifically designed for fighting brush fires. One feature that sets these engines apart from the standard engines is their ability to pump water from a 500-gallon tank while on the move. This allows firefighters to make a running attack on the fire.^[7]

Helicopters

Air Unit Fire Support Bell HH-1H

Ventura County has four Helicopters that are jointly used by the VCFD and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.^[8] The fleet of helicopters is made up of four different Bell UH-1 Hueys, one each of the HH-1H, UH-1H, Bell 205B and Bell 212.^[9] Each Huey can carry up to nine firefighters and features a 375-gallon water tank that can be used to make drops onto fires.^[8] In addition to fire fighting missions, the Hueys are used for search and rescue. emergency medical services, marijuana eradication and surveillance.^[9]

Crash engines

The crash engines are units designed to fight large flammable liquid fires, specifically aircraft fires. They are also utilized on gasoline fires in refineries or tanker trucks on the highway. The engines carry 1,500 gallons of water and is fitted with a pump capable of 1,250 GPM. Two hundred gallons of foam concentrate is also carried on board.^[10]

Dozers

To aid in fighting wildfires, VCFD has multiple bulldozers. The dozers, as they are known, travel as a three piece unit consisting of the dozer itself, a tractor-trailer that transports the dozer and a tender that carries tools for servicing the dozer in the field.^[11]

Fire boat

The VCFD has a 38-foot fireboat stationed at the Channel Islands Harbor. It is outfitted with a 1,000 GPM water cannon.^[12]

Emergency operations

Bolded stations serve as quarters for the Battalion.

Battalion 1

Headquartered at Station 54, Battalion 1 services the Camarillo and Somis areas as well as the department's Special Operations activities. Special operations include dealing with hazardous materials, urban search and rescue, water rescue and specialized fire fighting activities such as shipboard and aircraft emergencies.^[13]

#	Equipment	Address	City	Nickname	Reference
50	Engine 50 Crash 50 Hazmat 50 Squad 50 Foam 50 Utility 50	189 S. Las Posas Rd.	Camarillo	Camarillo Airport	[14]
52	Medic Engine 52 Engine 152	5353 Santa Rosa Rd.	Camarillo	Mission Oaks	[15]
54	Battalion 1 Engine 54 Truck 54 Water Rescue 54 USAR 54	2160 Pickwick Dr.	Camarillo	Camarillo	[13]
55	Engine 55 Brush Engine 355	403 Valley Vista Dr.	Camarillo	Las Posas	[16]
57	Engine 57 Brush Engine 357 Water Tender 57 Utility 57 Light & Air 57	3356 Somis Rd.	Somis	Somis	[17]

Battalion 2

Headquartered at Station 23, Battalion 2 services the Ojai Valley area as well as parts of the north coast.^[18]

#	Equipment	Address	City	Nickname	Reference
20	Engine 20 Patrol 20	12727 Santa Paula-Ojai Rd.	Santa Paula	Summitt	[19]
21	Engine 21 Engine 121 (Reserve) Brush Engine 321	1201 E. Ojai Av.	Ojai	Ojai	[20]
22	Engine 22 Utility 22 Brush Engine 322	466 S. La Luna Av.	Meiners Oaks	Meiners Oaks	[21]
23	Medic Engine 23 Rescue 23	15 Kunkle St.	Oak View	Oak View	[18]
25	Engine 25 Engine 125 Water Tender 25 Utility 25	5674 W. Pacific Coast Highway	Ventura	Rincon	[22]
26	Engine 26 Engine 126 Brush Engine 326	12391 W. Telegraph Rd.	Santa Paula	Saticoy	[23]

Battalion 3

Headquartered at Station 30, Battalion 3 services the area of Conejo Valley.^[24]

#	Equipment	Address	City	Nickname	Reference
30	Engine 30 Truck 30 Battalion 3	325 W. Hillcrest Dr.	Thousand Oaks	Civic Center	[24]
31	Engine 31 Brush Engine 331 Squad 31	151 N. Duesenberg Dr.	Thousand Oaks	Westlake	[25]
32	Medic Engine 32 Engine 132 Patrol 32	830 Reino Rd.	Newbury Park	Potrero	[26]
33	Engine 33 Brush Engine 333 Utility 33	33 Lake Sherwood Dr.	Thousand Oaks	Lake Sherwood	[27]
34	Medic Engine 34 Engine 134 Utility 34	555 E. Avenida de Los Arboles	Thousand Oaks	Arboles	[28]
35	Engine 35 OES Reserve Engine 344	2500 W. Hillcrest Dr.	Newbury Park	Newbury Park	[29]
36	Medic Engine 36 Engine 136	855 Deerhill Rd.	Oak Park	Oak Park	[30]
37	Engine 37 Utility 137 Light & Air 37	2010 Upper Ranch Rd.	Thousand Oaks	North Ranch	[31]

Battalion 4

Headquartered at Station 41, Battalion 4 services the areas of Simi Valley and Moorpark .^[32]

#	Equipment	Address	City	Nickname	Reference
40	Medic Engine 40 Engine 140 Utility 40 USAR 40 OES Water Tender 12	4185 Cedar Springs St.	Moorpark	Mountain Meadows	[33]
41	Engine 41 Engine 141 Truck 41 Battalion 4	1910 Church St.	Simi Valley	Church Street	[32]
42	Engine 42 Engine 142 Brush Engine 342	295 E. High Street	Moorpark	Moorpark	[34]
43	Medic Engine 43 Brush Engine 343 Utility 43 Squad 43	5874 E. Los Angeles Av.	Simi Valley	Yosemite	[35]
44	Rescue Engine 44 Engine 144 Truck 144	1050 Country Club Dr.	Simi Valley	Wood Ranch	[36]
45	Engine 45 Engine 145 Foam 45 Dozer 4	790 Pacific Av.	Simi Valley	Pacific Street	[37]
46	Engine 46 OES Engine 283	3265 Tapo St.	Simi Valley	Tapo Street	[38]
47	Medic Engine 47 Truck 147 Utility 47	2901 Erringer Rd.	Simi Valley	Big Sky	[39]

Battalion 5

Headquartered at Station 51, Battalion 5 services the areas of the Santa Clara River Valley, El Rio and Port Hueneme.^[40]

#	Equipment	Address	City	Nickname	Reference
27	Rescue Engine 27 Rescue 27 Water Tender 27	613 Old Telegraph Rd.	Fillmore	Fillmore	[41]
28	Medic Engine 28 Brush Engine 328 Patrol 16	513 N. Church St.	Piru	Piru	[42]
51	Medic Engine 51 Brush Engine 351 OES Swiftwater 10 Battalion 5	3302 Turnout Park Cr.	Oxnard	El Rio	[40]
53	Engine 53 Water Rescue 53	304 N. Second St.	Port Hueneme	Port Hueneme	[43]
56	Engine 56 Engine 156 Patrol 56	11855 Pacific Coast Highway	Malibu	Malibu	[44]

Organization

VCFD is under the auspices of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, who appoint the Fire Chief. Reporting directly to the Fire Chief, the Deputy Fire Chief oversees the six bureaus within the department:

• Bureau of Fire Prevention
• Bureau of Emergency Services
• Bureau of Support Services
• Bureau of Planning & Technology
• Bureau of Risk Management, Human Resources & Labor Relations
• Bureau of Administrative & Fiscal Services

Bureau of Emergency Services

This bureau provides fire suppression, emergency medical care, hazardous materials response, Urban search and rescue, swift water rescue, and the Fire Training Section. Under the command of an assistant chief, the bureau composes all three divisions of fire stations, as well as the Fire Training and Emergency Medical Services Sections.

References

1. "Ventura County Fire Protection District 2012 Annual Report". Ventura County Fire Protection District. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
2. "Chief's Message". Retrieved January 1, 2014.
3. "History". Ventura County Fire Department Historical Foundation. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
4. "Engine". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
5. "Medic Engine". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
6. "Reserve Engine". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
7. "Brush Engine". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
8. "Copter". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
9. "Air Unit". Ventura County Sheriff. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
10. "Crash Rescue". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
11. "Dozer". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
12. "Fire Boat". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
13. "Station 54". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
14. "Station 50". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
15. "Station 52". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
16. "Station 55". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
17. "Station 57". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
18. "Station 23". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
19. "Station 20". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
20. "Station 21". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
21. "Station 22". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
22. "Station 25". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
23. "Station 26". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
24. "Station 30". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
25. "Station 31". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
26. "Station 32". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
27. "Station 33". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
28. "Station 34". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
29. "Station 35". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
30. "Station 36". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
31. "Station 37". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
32. "Station 41". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
33. "Station 40". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
34. "Station 42". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
35. "Station 43". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
36. "Station 44". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
37. "Station 45". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
38. "Station 46". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
39. "Station 47". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
40. "Station 51". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
41. "Station 27". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
42. "Station 40". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
43. "Station 53". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
44. "Station 56". Ventura County Fire Department. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

External links

• Ventura County Fire Department Official Website
  • Fireline - Live Incident Descriptions of the Ventura County Fire Dept.
  • Fire Stations Map and Links