Draft:Oceanside Fire Department
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| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| City |  Oceanside |
| Agency overview[5] | |
| Established | 1888[1] |
| Annual calls | 24,173 (2026)[2] |
| Employees | 280[3] |
| Annual budget | $51,266,371 (2024) |
| Staffing | Career |
| Fire chief | Jessamyn Specht[4] |
| EMS level | Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) |
| IAFF | 3736 |
| Motto | "Embracing Families and Safeguarding Communities." |
| Facilities and equipment[6] | |
| Battalions | 1 |
| Stations | 9 |
| Engines | 8 Front line 2 Reserve |
| Trucks | 1 |
| Ambulances | 7 |
| Tenders | 1 |
| Wildland | 1 OES Type 3 and 1 Type 6 1 Type 6 |
| Fireboats | 2 |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
The Oceanside Fire Department (OFD) is the full-service fire department of the City of Oceanside, California, United States.
Established in 1888, the Department handles over 20,000 calls per year, covers 41 square miles of service area, including 4 miles of coast, and serves almost 180,0000 residents.[2][7] The Department also provides emergency medical services, including ambulance and lifeguard services.
Overview & Organization
[edit]Operations Division
[edit]The Operations Division is the largest division in the OFD and is responsible for day-to-day operations. The division has over 100 sworn personnel and is led by a Division Chief. 9 stations are ran 24/7, responding to various fire, rescue, and medical calls. Special operations operates under this division, including San Diego County USAR Task Force 8, water rescue operations as carried out by the lifeguard service and coastal stations 1 & 2, and wildland operations including rescue and fire ops. [8]
Training Division
[edit]The Training Division is responsible for ensuring firefighters educational and training requirements are met. The division is led by a Division Chief, and has their own training center in central Oceanside with multi-story training tower and a command training center. Training programs include live fire exercises, vehicle extrication, time-sensitive rescue operations, confined space situations, wildfire operations, and EMS scenarios.[9][10]
Lifeguard Division
[edit]The Oceanside Lifeguard Service is operated under the direction of the OFD and led by a Lifeguard Captain. The division is responsible for all public safety operations on Oceanside's beaches and waterways. The division operates 15 towers, and has headquarters at Oceanside Municipal Pier. The Marine Safety Unit operates under the division, providing marine fire and rescue services to the city's harbor and coastlines. The units uses two vessels, as well as land-based patrol unit.[11]
History
[edit]In 1888, a volunteer company was formed in the City of Oceanside and would continue to for 38 years. In 1925, the City purchased their first motorized fire engine, an American LaFrance Type 65 Class B Pumper for $8,500. The pumper was stored at a private garage owned by Fire Chief Earnest White, because it was the only building in the city to store a fire engine. In 1926, the City began lifeguard service and re-organized the volunteer company into "Oceanside Engine Company Number One", opening its first fire station 4 years later at the corner of Third and Nevada Street. The fire station housed both the fire department and the police department, with the fire department being staffed by a chief and 18 volunteers.
It wasn't until 1939 that John Todd and Richard Trotter were hired by the City to become the first full-time paid firefighters, with Trotter going on to become the fire chief in 1963. The Department would open three more stations, Station 2 in 1953, Station 3 in '62, and Station 4 in '71. The following year, Chief Trotter instituted both a fire department emergency medical technician program and an ambulance program. The Department would begin it's paramedic program in 1976. The Department opened more stations, Station 5 in 1973, both Station 6 and 7 in the '90s, Station 8 in 2006, and the most recent, Station 9 in late 2025. In 2023, the Department created the Marine Safety Unit under the Lifeguard Division. The unit provides both lifeguard and firefighter paramedic services, utilizing fire/rescue boat units to serve Oceanside Harbor and the coastline.[1][11]
Stations & Facilities
[edit]Stations
[edit]| Station Number | Address | Engine Company | Truck Company | Medic Company | Cross-Staffed Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 714 Pier View Way, Oceanside, CA 92054 | Engine 211 | Rescue Ambulance 211 | Mobile Command 1 | |
| 2 | 1740 Ditmar Street, Oceanside, CA 92054 | Engine 212, Reserve Engine 212 | |||
| 3 | 3101 Oceanside Boulevard, Oceanside, CA 92056 | Engine 213 | Rescue Ambulance 213, Basic Life Support 213 | OES Patrol 6612 | |
| 4 | 3990 Lake Boulevard, Oceanside, CA 92056 | Engine 214 | Rescue Ambulance 214 | OES Brush 6321 | |
| 5 | 4841 North River Road, Oceanside, CA 92057 | Engine 215 | Water Tender 215, Patrol 215 | ||
| 6 | 895 North Santa Fe Avenue, Oceanside, CA 92056 | Engine 216 | Rescue Ambulance 216 | Brush 216 | |
| 7 | 3350 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, CA 92058 | Engine 217, Reserve Engine 217 | Truck 217 | Basic Life Support 217, Reserve Ambulance 210 | Brush 217, Battalion 217 |
| 8 | 1935 Avenida Del Oro, Suite F, Oceanside, CA 92056 | Engine 218 | |||
| 9 | 5590 Giovanni Way Oceanside, CA 92057 | Patrol 219 |
Facilities
[edit]| Facility Name | Address | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Administration Office | 300 N Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054 | Part of the Oceanside City Administrative Complex, serves as Fire Headquarters. |
| Fire Training Center | 110 Jones Road, Oceanside, California 92054 | Facility has a 5-story training tower, roof operations area, multi-story garage, and helipad. |
| Lifeguard Administration Building | 301 The Strand North, Oceanside, CA 92054 | Serves as Lifeguard Headquarters. |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "History". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ^ a b "Overview". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ^ "Oceanside Fire Department 2024 Annual Report". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ^ "City Announces Next Fire Chief". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ^ a b "Standard of Cover". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ^ "Oceanside Marine Safety Unit Promo". Youtube. KOCT Television. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ^ "Beaches". City of Oceanside. City of Oceanside Public Works. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ^ "Operations & EMS". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ^ "Programs". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ^ "Training". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ^ a b "Lifeguards". Oceanside, CA - Fire. Oceanside Fire Department. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
- ^ "Completed Mobile Command Vehicle". Instagram. oceanside_fire. Retrieved July 7, 2026.