Fullerton is considering disbanding its municipal fire department and instead contracting with the Orange County Fire Authority to provide firefighting, paramedic and hazmat services. A proposal generated by the OCFA claims it can provide a higher level of services at a lower cost than Fullerton currently provides through its own department.
However, some Fullerton councilmembers oppose the move as a union power play, and want the city to solicit competing proposals in order to secure a range of options to evaluate.
If approved, all sworn Fullerton Fire Department staff would be transitioned to the OCF over the course of several months, assuming they pass background checks and medical exams. Non-sworn FF staff would be hired by the OCFA based on vacancies and the agency’s needs. The city would retain ownership of its fire stations, while leasing its existing vehicles and equipment to the OCFA for free.
The OCFA contends that by joining the authority, Fullerton can reduce fire services costs by $28 million over four years, while bolstering paramedic response capabilities and strengthening employee recruitment, training and retention, as well as benefitting from vehicle rotation and replacement planning and access to OCFA emergency and non-emergency resources.
Joining the OCFA would entail a one-time start up cost of $1.6 million, and pension liability for retired Fullerton firefighters would remain the responsibility of city taxpayers.
According to the proposal, staffing levels would remain the same but the number of paramedics on duty would be bumped from 10 to 12. In terms of equipment, one fire truck would be converted to a paramedic truck, and an engine would also be converted to a paramedic.
The Fullerton Firefighters Association – the union representing the FFD’s sworn employees – is supportive of joining the OCFA. Its members would then become dues-paying members of the powerful Orange County Professional Firefighters Association.
The OCFA currently serves 2 million residents in 23 cities and unincorporated communities in the county. The agency operates 77 fire stations manned by 1,152 Firefighters and 162 reserve firefighters, and employs 341 non-safety personnel such as dispatchers, etc.
There are two types of member cities. One are “Structural Fire Fund Members,” which are funded through property taxes that go directly into OCFA coffers. 16 member cities – primarily south county cities such as Irvine – fall under this category.
The other eight member cities are “Cash Contract Cities”: cities that had fire departments. They fund their membership, with contract costs based on truck and engine company costs. Fullerton would fall under this category. Other Cash Contract Cities include Buena Park, Garden Grove, San Clemente, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, and Westminster.
OCFA Takeover A Union Power Play?
Councilmembers Nick Dunlap and Bruce Whitaker are opposed to Fullerton joining the OCFA in what is essentially a sole-source contract arrangement.
“Ours is one of the oldest fire departments in Orange County,” said Councilman Nick Dunlap, who represents District 2. “I am all about providing the best fire services we can at the lowest possible cost. But if we’re serious about doing that by contracting out for fire services, then we owe it to the taxpayers to secure multiple proposals we can evaluate.”
“The OCFA is not the only fire agency out there,” said Dunlap. “The city should also solicit bids from other firefighting agencies such as Los Angeles County Fire, Placentia, Rural Metro and CalFire.”
Joining OCFA Is A Growing Trend, Although Placentia Bucks The Tide
If Fullerton joins the OCFA, it would join a growing trend of cities with independent fire departments throwing in with the giant firefighting agency in search of cost-savings. For example, Garden Grove joined the authority in 2019, and Santa Ana – facing municipal bankruptcy – joined in 2012.
Placentia elected to swim against the tide, withdrawing from the OCFA in 2019 to form its own municipal fore department, with a lower pension cost structure. Placentia’s move prompted harsh blowback from the powerful Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, the union representing the OCFA’s sworn employees, but ultimately succeeded in forming their own independent department.
