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California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAL : California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, better known as CDF, is the largest, full service all risk, fire department in the Western United States. CDF operates more fire stations than do the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago Fire Departments combined.

CDF is directly responsible for providing wildland fire protection for 31 million acres of watershed areas referred to as “State Response Area” or SRA. CDF contracts with the County Fire Department’s of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Santa Barbara, Marin, and Ventura where they are directly responsible for SRA fire protection. To provide SRA fire protection, outside these six counties, CDF operates during the declared fire season 336 fire engines out of 228 fire stations, along with 58 bulldozers. CDF operates out of thirteen bases, 13 airtactical planes, 21 airtankers, and 9 helicopters. CDF contracts out services to a private firm for fix-wing pilots and aircraft maintenance. CDF is also involved with the San Bernardino County Sheriff and San Diego County Sheriff helicopter firefighting programs.

CDF operates 39 Conservation Camps in conjunction with the California Youth Authority and Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Crews from these camps respond to wildland fires, as well as to other emergencies, along with working on various conservation and community projects.

Between a third to half of CDF’s fire stations are kept open when fire season is closed under contract with local governments to provide full service emergency medical (EMS) and fire protection services.

CDF operates over fifty local fire departments under contract. As a result CDF operates and staffs several hundred additional fire stations that are locally owned, and out of these fire stations operates fire engines, aerial truck companies, hazardous material units, rescue squads, water tenders, ambulances, and provides paramedic services in some locations.

CDF has ten multi-agency Incident Command Teams that respond to provide operational management, planning, financial, and logistical support to an emergency incident, including those involving multi-jurisdictions, multi-agencies under a unified command structure.

CDF firefighters has been part of regional Urban Search and Rescue Teams that have responded to incidents such as the World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City Bombing.

CDF operates twenty-one, 911-emergency command centers, eight are co-located with US Forest Service centers. These command centers dispatch federal and state fire apparatus. CDF under contract provides dispatch services to local government fire agencies as well as dispatches ambulances, and air-ambulances. Together CDF and the US Forest Service operate two Regional/Geographical Area Coordination Centers; in addition CDF operates a statewide command center.

The California State Fire Marshall’s Office is part of CDF. The State Fire Marshall’s office is responsible for fire inspections for state facilities, state fire training, pipeline safety, fire code interpretation, arson and bomb investigation, as well as public fire safety education.

CDF’s Resource Management Unit manages California’s eight-demonstration forest, enforcing California’s forest practice laws, as well as try to manage any tree pest and disease outbreak, as well as work with land owners on vegetation management programs.

CDF is organized with Sacramento Headquarters, which oversees four region offices, which oversee twenty-one Operation Units. Each of these twenty-one Operational Units are organized and administered as like they are an individual fire department.

[Official CDF website]

Partial list of Fire Departments CDF operates

The following cities contract with CDF, where CDF responses to assist and to augment these cities fire department’s response to wildland fires.

Source fire.ca.gov

CDF at one time operated the Orange County Fire Department (now the Orange County Fire Authority), the San Bernardino County Fire Department County Service Area #38, the Kings County Fire Department, and the Tulare County Fire Department. CDF once provided 911 fire dispatch services to the Fresno City Fire Department.

 

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