About The City
The City of Orange, our 115-year-old city, is a perfect blend of the old and the new. The City welcomes progress while working hard to preserve its history. The original square mile of the City holds the Old Towne Historic District, or what is refereed to as the “heart of the City.” However, high rise office buildings and hotels can be seen on the horizon to the west, still within the City limits. Orange continues to grow in size, as well as population, as property owners on the eastern end of the City choose to develop their properties. Whether in the historic district of the City, the highrises to the west, or the hills to the east, maintaining the safety and well-being of our community is the Fire Department's top priority.
In Orange, one can find the world's largest manufacturer of off-shore drilling equipment, or even one of the country's few retailers selling left-handed garden tools. There are two major shopping malls, 43 schools (grade schools), three colleges, and one university. Orange is the largest provider of health care in Orange County with 5 major medical facilities.
The Mission statement of the City of Orange is: "The City of Orange is Committed to Excellent Service for our Residents, Businesses and Visitors." The Mission statement of the Orange Fire Department fits within the overall City mission: "To Prevent or Minimize the Loss of Life and Property from the Adverse Effects of Fire, Medical Emergencies, and Dangerous Conditions Created by Man or Nature."
About Our Staff
Under the direction of Fire Chief Bart Lewis, the 136 members of the City of Orange Fire Department work to provide quality professional public services for the 134,500 residents who live in our 24 square mile response area. Daily on-duty staffing in our eight fire stations is 39 persons. Fire Administration manages the selection and hiring of personnel, workers compensation, payroll, policy and procedure development, apparatus and equipment repair and replacement. Administrative Captain Greg Lewin prepares and oversees the department's budget, purchasing and facilities maintenance.
The Fire Chief's office provides overall management of the fire protection and life safety resources necessary to maintain an adequate service level to the community. At the direction of the Fire Chief, two divisions divide the primary responsibilities of the organization.
Division Chief Frank Eickhoff manages the Operations Division of the department. Three Battalion Chiefs, Frank Frasz, Jack Thomas and Pat Dibb, assist him with emergency response. The Operations Division has the responsibility of responding to and mitigating fire, medical, technical rescue and other emergency situations. The Division is an active participant in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) USAR program as a part of California Task Force 5. Task Force 5 responded to the Sacramento floods, the Oklahoma City Bombing and most recently deployed to Louisiana for rescue and recovery missions related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The City of Orange Fire Department is proud of the level of expertise that it has attained in USAR operations including swift water rescue, confined space and trench rescue.
Training Officer, Captain Kevin Southerland, works to ensure the proficiency of new firefighter recruits and the on-going skills maintenance of experienced personnel. Captain Southerland is also active in the continuing development of urban search and rescue (USAR), and is internationally recognized as a leader in that discipline.
The Division assists the Prevention Division through fire company code enforcement and public education duties. One of these duties is the running of a smoke detector program, which provides a smoke detector to any household in the City without one, and includes installation for seniors and others who are unable to install them. The Operations Division also conducts CPR classes for citizens and businesses on an as-needed basis.
The Emergency Medical Services program is managed by Suzanne Goodrich, RN, MSN. With almost 80% of OFD requests for service being medically related, Suzanne has worked to bring the EMS program to a new level in providing care to our sick and injured citizens through her involvement with Quality and Continuous Improvement Programs at the local and state level.
Senior Finance Clerk Jennifer Wilson-Charles and EMS Administrative Clerk Linda Salas support the Operations Division.
The Fire Prevention Division is comprised of nine personnel and is managed by the Fire Marshal Tom Groseclose. Fire Marshal Groseclose is active in the revision of the California Fire Code, coordination of fire safety for new developments in the city and in fire prevention coordination with other city departments.
Deputy Fire Marshal, Captain Ian MacDonald, has responsibilities including staff support, special projects and motion picture film safety coordination. He also serves on the Orange County Fire Prevention Officers Association Public Education Committee.
Hazardous Materials Specialists Brad Goodrich and Rena Davis, handle responsibilities including record keeping of over 450 hazardous materials disclosure locations, over 90 underground storage tank locations, conducting site inspections of these businesses and witnessing tank installations and removals.
Fire Safety Specialists Wendy Saunders, Janna Doty, and Raymi Wun are responsible for fire and life safety inspections. Specialist Saunders coordinates plan check functions for the department. Specialist Doty inspects the institutional occupancies in the City, issues fire clearances for all State-licensed care facilities, and assists the public with special events planning. Specialist Wun is responsible for the coordination of the wildland urban-interface fuel modification and weed abatement programs. Much of his time is spent in the twenty-nine high-rise buildings in the city. Inspector Rosie Flores conducts new construction inspections, including several new tracts of homes being built in the wildland urban-interface zone.
Fire Investigator, Firefighter Keith Marshall, conducts fire cause and origin investigations. Keith is effective in his fire cause investigations and related follow up and he also counsels juvenile fire setters.
Senior Administrative Clerk Linda Valdez and Administrative Clerk Barbara Reid support the Fire Prevention Division’s clerical needs.
The Orange Fire Department is currently in the process of purchasing and upgrading equipment and supplies for Terrorism/Weapons of Mass Destruction preparedness. Department personnel actively participate in several countywide task forces, and serve on a number of committees in an attempt to ensure the most up-to-date care possible to Orange citizens and visitors.
