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Anaheim Fire Department

The Anaheim Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Anaheim, California.

Organization

The department has 229 sworn firefighters and 56 support personnel.

Fire Suppression Section

The firefighters are organized into six battalions. The department has 11 engine companies and 6 truck companies. The Department responds within five minutes on 90% of all calls.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Section

The EMS section is headed by a registered nurse who manages the paramedic program, ambulance transportation and billing for services. To defray the cost of EMS service, the City of Anaheim charges a $300 fee per person for each medical response. In lieu of being charged for each usage, the City offers an annual fee program ($36 as of 2006) for residents and businesses in Anaheim that covers any usage of the Fire Department's EMS service.

Communications Section

23 dispatchers handle all fire and EMS calls for Anaheim and partner cities through the Metro Cities Fire Communications Center, also known as MetroNet. The other cities that use MetroNet are Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Orange.

North Net Fire Training Center

The Training Center provides fire training, certification and Urban Search and Rescue training. It is operated in conjunction with the cities of Garden Grove and Orange. The facilities are also open for other agencies to use as a training ground.

History

The Anaheim Fire Department has it origins in 1857. In that year, the City of Anaheim was incorporated and a volunteer fire service was created. From that year until 1915, fire fighting was done by volunteers using horse-drawn fire engines. In 1915, the City Council authorized the purchase of a motorized fire truck and the hiring of two full time firemen. These men were on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In 1926, the force was increased to 5 with the hiring of two additional firefighters and a Fire Chief allowing for two shifts, a 10-hour day shift and a 14-hour night shift. In 1936, a relief firefighter was hired allowing for the firefighters to take time off.

1947 saw the force increase to 7. The Board of Fire Underwriters had made two scathing reviews of the Anaheim Fire Department, the first in 1930 and the second in 1950. Both gave the Fire Department poor marks for structure, organization, and fire prevention. The Chief took the recommendations of the Board. Ranks and positions were created in the Department, radios were installed in fire vehicles and shifts were changed to 24-hours on, 24-hours off. In 1955, the Fire Prevention Bureau was established to enforce the Fire Code in the city.

1956 saw the construction of Fire Station #2. By 1961, Anaheim had six fire stations. In 1960, the volunteer force of 20 men was disbanded due to the increase in number of calls reaching 1,000 for the year. It was decided that the city was in need of a 100% professional, trained force. By 1963, the force had grown to over 100 full time firefighters.

In the early 1990's, Anaheim was rated by the Insurance Services Office as a Class 1 City, one of only 10 such communities in California. This served to dramatically reduce commercial fire-insurance rates for businesses located in the City.