Blaine County Fire Department

## History

On May 11, 1928 the Blaine County Fire Protection District (BCFPD) was established. It wasn't for another two years that a 24-hour Fire Warden was placed on duty.

As the population of the county grew, the BCFD grew as well. In 1946 the department added radios to all of their trucks and rose to a total of 34 personnel. Nearly 33 years later in 1969, the department added a second radio frequency and added a full-time dispatch center at Station 31 in Thousand Oaks. Four years later in 1973, BCFD changed their engines from traditional Fire Engine Red to Yellow.

## Blaine County Fire Crew

Blaine County Fire Department Wildland and Aviation Division
Committed to Excellence...Delivered with Pride

In 1929, 400 men and one fire truck fought a major fire on Ojai’s Sulpher Mountain by hand. In 1932, during the Great Depression, a number of labor camps were set up throughout the county to construct fire roads and firebreaks. Some of these camps were in Matilija, Hopper Mountain, Santa Susana Mountains, Sisar and Wheeler Gorge.

In 1942, the fire district hired its first handcrew. The small group of young men fought fires and repaired forestry telephone poles that ran across the county connecting fire stations to headquarters. When the crews spotted a head of smoke, they climbed one of the poles, hooked up the phone line and called headquarters to find out the location of the fire.

During World War II, the federal Bracero Program that brought workers from Mexico to work in the agriculture fields became the primary supplier of labor for handcrews until the program ended in 1962. After the program ended, the Sheriff’s Honor Farm attempted to use inmates to provide handcrew labor. This proved unsatisfactory on the first fire and was not used again.

The Start of today's Crew

In 1975, the Federal SAETA program came in with twelve months funding for ten people. This crew was equipped with the Fire District’s first Nomex clothing. The crew sat on toolboxes in the back of the fire district’s old Chevy flat rack truck on the way to calls. In 1976 and 1977, twenty CETA personnel were assigned to the crew, using rented vans for transportation. This was a step up from the flat rack.

In 1978, the county’s first Fire Control Workers used old SADF buses for transportation for the thirty-member crew. Over the years, a number of resources programs were used to try to provide handcrew labor for firefighting of wildland fires.

The Crew Today

Today’s handcrews are funded by department operating funds and are an integral part of our wildland firefighting team. The Crew has grown to a size of over 40 wildland employees, including 20 permanent full time crew members. Along with being an initial attack fly crew, the crew is also a regional firefighting resource. Sending a full Type-1 20 man crew all over San Andreas. During non-fire periods, they conduct prescribed fire projects; maintain fire department facilities, repair hose and small motors, and train to keep their skills sharp. Many new firefighters come from the ranks of the handcrew.

## Organization

BCFD is under the auspices of the Blaine County Board of Supervisors, who appoint the Fire Chief. Reporting directly to the Fire Chief, the Deputy Fire Chief oversees the five bureaus within the department:

* Emergency Services Bureau
* Support Services Bureau
* Administrative Services Bureau
* Fire Prevention Bureau
* Business Services Bureau

### Bureau of Emergency Services

This bureau provides fire suppression, emergency medical care, hazardous materials response, Urban search and rescue, swift water rescue, and the Fire Training Section. Under the command of an assistant chief, the bureau composes all three divisions of fire stations, as well as the Fire Training and Emergency Medical Services Sections.

## Additional Information

Based off of Ventura County Fire Department.