Fire and Paramedic
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La Habra, in Orange County.
It should not be confused with the Los Angeles Fire Department, which serves the city of Los Angeles.
The department is commanded by the Fire Chief, who has two subordinate Chief Deputies. In turn, each Chief Deputy heads either the Emergency Operations or Business Operations of the department.
The department was featured in the 1970s television series Emergency!, which dramatized a department paramedic rescue squad; and before that, in the 1958 television series Rescue 8, which featured a rescue squad prior to the practice of squad members also being trained as paramedics.
The television show Baywatch, depicting a glamorous version of the department's lifeguards, was filmed mostly on location at L.A. County beaches.
The mission of the Los Angeles County Fire Department is
"To protect lives, the environment and property by providing prompt, skillful and cost-effective fire protection and life safety services."
The Los Angeles County Fire Department began in 1920, and was known as the Los Angeles County Forestry Department and Los Angeles County Fire Protection Districts. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors enlisted Stuart J. Flintham to lead the new department, and directed him to establish a program for fire prevention and fire fighting in the county.
He succeeded in opening 30 Fire Protection Districts, which served, and continue to serve, small towns and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
County vehicles assigned to the Los Angeles County Fire Department continue to list as registered owner the "County of Los Angeles Fire Protection Districts" on Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork.
The official home page of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The EMS Agency is responsible for coordinating the county's emergency medical services system which includes hospitals, fire departments, and ambulance companies. The agency works with both the private and public sectors to bring paramedic coverage to our county's more than 10 million residents and visitors. It is a division of the L.A. County Department of Health Services.
