There has always been a fire service at Disneyland. When the park officially opened on July 17th, 1955, Disney acquired a 1954 Willys Jeep with a front-mounted pump for fire protection and staffed it with ex-military personnel. Today, they are equipped with a 1981 Chevrolet/Pierce/Crown pumper with a 250 gallon tank and a Waterous 300 gpm pump, 600 feet of 2-1/2 inch line and 150 feet of 1-1/2 inch attack line. This truck, and another utility pickup truck equipped with fire extinguishers, is stationed at the fire department headquarters located near the entrance to Disneyland. There is also a trailer-mounted Hale 1000 gpm pump with three shots of 5-inch hard-suction, 2,000 feet of 4-inch supply hose and two cross-lays of 2-1/2 inch and 1-1/2 inch line that is stored in the back-lot area of the park, for use in drafting should the need arise.
While this equipment is rarely used and is always maintained in tip-top shape, anyone who has spent any amount of time in the fire service is sure to be thinking at this point that should there be a fire of any real consequence, the equipment on-site would not even be nearly capable of handling it. This assumption is correct.
The main thrust of the work done by the DFD is preventative in nature. This is no small assignment, however, for a "protection district" as complex and varied as Disneyland. The park itself encompasses roughly 200 acres, including the backstage areas. There are almost 10,000 employees in the summer months, and on a busy day there may be over 60,000 visitors to the park. Due to the mechanization of all the attractions and animatronics that Disney is famous for, there are probably close to 20,000 electric motors on site, not to mention all of the wiring that goes with them. Many attractions, including the most current show extravaganza "Fantasmic," include a host of pyrotechnic and laser effects, and there is an abundant supply of hazardous materials in all configurations that are used in the creation and maintenance of the attractions. There are 22 restaurants, and therefore 22 kitchens that need to be inspected on a regular basis. As part of fire prevention, there are roughly 2,000 fire extinguishers in the park that need to be inspected and serviced as well. While it would seem that there would be very little for a firefighter to do at Disneyland, the DFD receives on the average of 1,100 "calls" annually, making for quite a busy operation.
The vast majority of these calls are investigative in nature: strange odors, burnt electrical motors, small spills, etc. There is also a high degree of involvement with the research and development end of Disneyland: As new attractions are installed, the fire department is involved in every step, from enforcing sprinkler codes to overseeing actual construction. At times, to meet deadlines for a new attraction, a painter and a welder may accidentally be working side-by-side.
While this equipment is rarely used and is always maintained in tip-top shape, anyone who has spent any amount of time in the fire service is sure to be thinking at this point that should there be a fire of any real consequence, the equipment on-site would not even be nearly capable of handling it. This assumption is correct.
The main thrust of the work done by the DFD is preventative in nature. This is no small assignment, however, for a "protection district" as complex and varied as Disneyland. The park itself encompasses roughly 200 acres, including the backstage areas. There are almost 10,000 employees in the summer months, and on a busy day there may be over 60,000 visitors to the park. Due to the mechanization of all the attractions and animatronics that Disney is famous for, there are probably close to 20,000 electric motors on site, not to mention all of the wiring that goes with them. Many attractions, including the most current show extravaganza "Fantasmic," include a host of pyrotechnic and laser effects, and there is an abundant supply of hazardous materials in all configurations that are used in the creation and maintenance of the attractions. There are 22 restaurants, and therefore 22 kitchens that need to be inspected on a regular basis. As part of fire prevention, there are roughly 2,000 fire extinguishers in the park that need to be inspected and serviced as well. While it would seem that there would be very little for a firefighter to do at Disneyland, the DFD receives on the average of 1,100 "calls" annually, making for quite a busy operation.
The vast majority of these calls are investigative in nature: strange odors, burnt electrical motors, small spills, etc. There is also a high degree of involvement with the research and development end of Disneyland: As new attractions are installed, the fire department is involved in every step, from enforcing sprinkler codes to overseeing actual construction. At times, to meet deadlines for a new attraction, a painter and a welder may accidentally be working side-by-side.
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