CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS : California Last Alarm Service Teams (CAL-LAST)

Saturday, January 26, 2013

California Last Alarm Service Teams (CAL-LAST)

The California Fire Foundation has joined in a first-of-its-kind partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to provide comprehensive support for local fire departments who lose one of their own in the line of duty.

The National Fallen Firefighter Foundation's Local Assistance State Team (L.A.S.T.) program provides departments and locals with a team of individuals who can assist with every aspect of a line-of-duty death funeral. Funding for this program is provided by the Department of Justice.

In a landmark memorandum of understanding, the California Fire Foundation has been designated as the exclusive administrator of this unique and comprehensive line-of-duty death assistance program for the state of California.

The program is known as the California Last Alarm Service Teams (Cal-LAST).

Original Source California Fire Foundation - Link: http://www.cafirefoundation.org/go/cff/callast-teams/

CFN - California Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).