Fullerton city council members on Tuesday, Oct. 16, will determine the future of the city’s in-house fire department after over a year of discussing whether the department should merge with the Orange County Fire Authority [OCFA].

A week prior to the meeting, Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung evaluated the monetary cost and quality of service Fullerton would gain if the council decides to merge Fullerton’s 113-year-old fire department with OCFA, an affiliation Fullerton firefighters have pressured the council to choose.

“What is the quality of service that we get, should we go over to OCFA? That is one additional paramedic, so no additional firefighters,” Jung said. “Is one additional paramedic worth the $5 million additional cost to a budget that’s already strained in an economy that’s headed in recession? Would that be the fiscally prudent thing for Fullerton long term and its residents?”

Residents during the public comments expressed a different perspective of the merge. From Fullerton firefighters to meeting regulars, more than one person quoted the cliche definition of insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again to get the same result,” and encouraged the city council members to go ahead with the merge at a Sept. 6 meeting.

“Why are people leaving? Why can’t we get people to stay?” Fullerton Fire Chief Adam Loeser said at the meeting, pointing to consistent lack of funds over the years that led the department to its current state.

Previously, the city of Placentia split from OCFA in 2020 against union wishes after a year of spending millions on its fire department at the cost of other departments, according to a June 2020 Voice of OC article. Jung recognized a similar sentiment from firefighters and the union in Fullerton, especially because the merge will raise Fullerton firefighters’ salaries and benefits to a higher standard.

“There’s a lot of external pressure from unions to go to OCFA,” he said. “Oftentimes … the people and the unions align with me, but I really have to think about Fullerton’s long-term fiscal health.”

“I wouldn’t mind going [with OCFA], but when you’re not the newest city in Orange County, but the oldest — at least one of the three oldest — there are different calculations involved.”

The city of Fullerton currently has a mutual aid agreement with OCFA, meaning OCFA and non-OCFA departments can voluntarily assist where another lacks resources.

The Fullerton City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5:30 p.m. at 303 West Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton.