Dousing Danger of Fiery Growth : County Fire Department Expands in Dana Point

Reflecting the population boom in southern Orange County, the County Fire Department recently opened a new fire station and added personnel to an existing one to improve its coverage of the area.

The new facility--at 31461 Street of the Golden Lantern at the border of Dana Point and Laguna Niguel, and known as Station 49--opened last week and will be formally dedicated Aug. 10.

The upgraded facility is Doheny Station, 26111 Victoria Blvd. in Dana Point’s Capistrano Beach district. Paramedics were added to that station permanently, effective Friday.

Rapidly Growing Area

“South Orange County is the part of the county that has grown more rapidly than most other parts,” said Capt. Hank Raymond, spokesman for the County Fire Department. “It’s a beautiful area down there, and in order to keep the high level of service that (Fire Department) Chief Larry Holms wants for the residents, we’re adding people and equipment.”

Unlike northern Orange County, which is predominantly covered by cities with their own fire departments, most of the southern county relies on county firefighters. Raymond said that of the southern incorporated cities, only Laguna Beach and San Clemente have their own fire departments.

In addition to suburban growth, the southern county has vast amounts of open land. “We cover the Ortega Highway area, Caspers Park, O’Neill Park and other big areas of wild lands,” Raymond said.

The Golden Lantern station has a fire engine on call round the clock with a rotating shift of firefighters. “A quint, which is a 90-foot aerial fire apparatus, will be placed in service at Station 49 in late fall of this year,” Raymond said.

Blends in With Homes

Raymond said the new station was designed to blend in with the new homes of the Laguna Niguel-Dana Point area.

“It’s a beautiful station, and it fits the motif of the area,” he said. “It has dormitory space for up to 12 firefighters, and it’s all on one level. This is a one-story station. They don’t build two-story stations much anymore because those involved having firefighters sliding down poles, and that often led to injuries.”

The addition of paramedics at Doheny Station in Capistrano Beach adds extra lifesaving support in Dana Point, Raymond said.

“Paramedics are firefighters trained in advanced life support,” he said. “They’re trained to be able to do a higher level of emergency care than a normal emergency medical technician. Among other things, paramedics are trained in giving medication and working directly with hospitals.”

Shortened Response Time

The addition of the paramedics will shorten the time it would otherwise take to bring such help to that area, Raymond said. A new emergency vehicle, used by the paramedics, also began service Friday. The station has two fire engines.

A formal dedication of Station 49 is scheduled Aug. 10 at 3:30 p.m., Raymond said, with Chief Holms and various county and city officials on hand. The public is invited, but Raymond said residents should feel free to visit the new station and the upgraded Doheny Station on virtually any day.

“We want the residents to consider these fire stations as their fire stations and to visit them anytime they want,” he said. “These new additions now mean that we can get to any fires in these developed areas a lot quicker. And we think this should provide the residents a better sense of security.”