Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/orange-county-fire-authority/)
Garden Grove city leaders are considering merging their fire department with the Orange County Fire Authority, a move aimed at cutting costs as the city faces a growing budget crisis and discusses a possible sales tax increase.
The Irvine City Council voted to tell the Orange County Fire Authority it may withdraw from the agency, part of a long-running dispute between Irvine and the Fire Authority over the city’s disproportionately large property tax contributions compared to the services it receives.
Orange County Fire Authority executives came under renewed criticism Tuesday for the slow response to the large Canyon 2 Fire, after a county investigation found numerous breaches of protocol caused an 80 to 85-minute delay in taking action.
County Supervisors, who are responsible for defining who responds to which type of search and rescue incident, said it wasn’t their job to fix the dispute – which reportedly has led to near-collisions between rescue helicopters. Supervisors instead pointed to other agencies to resolve the issue.
Recordings of the dispatcher are raising further concerns about the Fire Authority’s initial response to the fire, which damaged or destroyed nearly 60 homes.
“There are things we could have done differently,” Interim Fire Chief Patrick McIntosh told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
Orange County Fire Authority Chief Jeff Bowman stepped down after a group of managers called for his resignation. It’s unclear what their concerns were, and an effort is underway to bring Bowman back.
Fire Authority officials say they’ve been performing air rescues for over 20 years and are well-equipped for the job, but that in recent years sheriff’s helicopter crews have been racing to the scene and taking control.
Anaheim City Councilwoman Kris Murray publicly criticized Mayor Tom Tait at a city council meeting Tuesday over a phone call he had with Orange County Fire Authority Chief Jeff Bowman exploring the possibility of outsourcing the city’s fire department.
Council members violated the law by meeting secretly to approve a costly lobbying contract, according to open government advocates. While not admitting wrongdoing, the council promised Monday to not break the law in the future.