Local News in Brief : Anaheim : Fire Departments’ Pact to Speed Response Time

In an effort to speed response time to emergency calls, the Orange County and Anaheim fire departments signed an agreement Friday to eliminate jurisdictional boundaries between the two departments, fire officials said. The agreement will allow firefighters closest to an emergency to respond first, regardless of jurisdiction.

Before the agreement, formal requests were necessary to cross into each other’s jurisdiction, said Capt. Patrick McIntosh of the Orange County Fire Department.

McIntosh said the agreement is also designed to save money by eliminating the need to build fire stations in the outermost regions of each jurisdiction. Fire stations from both jurisdictions now can cover these regions, he said.