COUNTYWIDE : Supervisors Praise Emergency Response

Orange County’s emergency response team is prepared for a natural disaster similar to last week’s Northridge earthquake, the Board of Supervisors determined Tuesday after reviewing a report prepared by the Orange County Fire Department.

Supervisors commended the department’s response plan, although authorities noted that efforts to renovate some county fire stations are still underway.

The board also praised the firefighters, building inspectors, health workers and other county employees who assisted with relief efforts in Los Angeles County last week.

“I feel very pleased at the response of our county to the past floods, then the firestorms and the recent mobilization of our resources, sending them up to Los Angeles County for the good work done there,” Supervisor William G. Steiner said.

The Fire Department’s 28-page emergency preparedness report was prompted by the Northridge earthquake and concerns by Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder that longtime structural problems put at least 14 local fire stations at risk of serious earthquake damage.

Only two of the “at-risk” stations are being remodeled, according to the county report. But Wieder said she is now satisfied that fire officials are following a schedule of renovations or relocation for the other stations.

The report outlined a $3.2-million plan to reinforce the weak structures.

Since the Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1986, the Orange County Fire Department has allocated nearly $1.5 million to improve fire stations, County Fire Chief Larry J. Holms said.

Holms said his department could respond more quickly to local emergencies if it could call on helicopters to help in rescues and firefighting.

Holms said helicopters were key to responding to fires sparked by the Northridge quake.