Countywide : County Fire Department Finishes Reorganization

The Orange County Fire Department became the Orange County Fire Authority on Wednesday, a reorganization four years in the making.

The switch means that the department is no longer governed by the county Board of Supervisors, but rather by a 20-member board consisting of representatives from 18 cities and two county supervisors.

“This is a historic event for all of us,” said Tom Wilson, the Laguna Niguel representative on the board who was elected chairman Wednesday.

The department was created in 1980 to offer fire protection to about 500,000 people, mostly in unincorporated areas of Orange County.

But in the past 15 years, many areas have incorporated into cities. In 1994, the department served almost 1 million people, 83% of whom lived in cities. Yet the department was run by the county.

“We thought that it would be appropriate, since more people live in the cities, that cities have greater control of how we do things,” said James Radley, assistant chief of community safety and education, who helped to bring about the changes.

One of the board’s main duties will be managing the annual budget, which is about $100 million for the fiscal year ending in June.

Although the shift of powers is significant, fire officials don’t expect any changes in operations.

“It won’t affect the way we do our job,” said Greg Lonza, a station captain for the fire authority.