Orange County Panel to Close Two Fire Stations

Despite pleas from a dozen residents, the Orange County Fire Authority on Thursday approved a sweeping proposal to close two of its 62 stations and redefine the role of reserve firefighters.

The 24-member board passed the plan that was endorsed by the firefighters union but stirred resentment among reservists.

Firefighting responsibilities will be taken from most of the agency’s 322 reservists. They will play supporting roles at fire scenes and respond to traffic accidents and medical emergencies. The only exceptions will be those assigned to stations in Sunset Beach, Emerald Bay, Villa Park, Silverado Canyon and Modjeska Canyon, which still need volunteers to help do actual firefighting.

Battalion Chief Scott Brown and other officials argued that the restructuring is necessary because the reserve program, which at its peak had 600 volunteers, has been losing 25% to 30% of its people annually. Nowadays, they said, many reservists work far from home, leaving them unable to respond quickly to all calls.

By shifting responsibilities, the agency hopes to increase the reliability of a system that depends mainly on a backbone of 750 full-time firefighters to serve 1.3 million residents in 22 cities and in unincorporated areas.

Station No. 12 in Cypress and Station No. 1 in Orange will be closed.