A recent OC Register article, Firefighters Lose Critical Weapon, detailed the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) budget cuts that have caused the loss of Orange County based hand crews to fight local fires. According to the article, a part-time crew cost $373,151 last year and a full-time crew is estimated to cost $1.7 million per year. Hiring the hand crews, which clear brush which can allow rapid spread of wildfires, was cut because funds were not available.
But OCFA does have the money to pay for the very effective full-time hand crews. The Reserve program, which costs $2 million a year, can be cut and the hand crews reinstated. The Reserve program is supposed to be a volunteer program to allow community members to train as firefighters and work alongside full time employees to fight fires.
The reality is, the Reserve program is highly ineffective because members don't show up. At the Sunset Beach Station, Reserves were called on 51 times during 2008 and enough showed up to roll out the engine 2 times. In Emerald Bay, the Reserves got the engine out of the station 19 out of 31 times. La Palma's Reserves made it to less than 10% of their calls - 28 out of 291 calls. And Villa Park, got the engine out and rolling less than 1 out of 9 times called - 4 out of 35 calls were answered by Reserves. At stations having both Reserves and full-time fire fighters, the lack of Reserve response means full-time staff responds.
In Orange County's brushy hills, hand crews are highly effective to keep fires away from families, homes and businesses. The Reserve program is not effective. Save the hand crews - transfer the money from the no-show Reserves to fund hand crews.
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