Fire Prevention Bureau

Part of CAL FIRE’s mission is to prevent fires. The department’s Fire Prevention Bureau consists of multiple programs including: wildland pre-fire engineering; vegetation management; fire planning; public information and education; and law enforcement and fire investigation. Common projects include fire break construction and other fire fuel reduction activities that lessen the risk of wildfire to communities. This may include brush clearance around communities, along roadways and evacuation routes. Other important activities include defensible space inspections; emergency evacuation planning; fire prevention education; public information and media relations; fire hazard severity mapping; implementation of the State Fire Plan; fire-related law enforcement activities such as investigations to determine fire cause and origin as well as arson cases; and support for local government fire safe planning in the SRA (State Responsibility Areas).

Meet Battalion Chief Mike Waters.

The Fire Prevention Bureau of Butte County Fire Department/CALFIRE is a full spectrum bureau with specialists in the areas of:

• Fire Investigation
• Criminal Law Enforcement
• Public Education
• Public Information
• Pre-Fire Planning
• Fire Protection Planning
• Life Safety Code Enforcement. 

In addition to specialist duties, regularly assigned investigators will respond to calls involving undetermined, suspicious, and arson fires, as well as fires involving serious injury or death and/or high-value loss. The investigators are active members of the Butte County Fire Investigation Team, which is composed of representatives from all fire departments in the county, and Butte County Fire Department CALFIRE. Members of the Fire Investigation Team respond to calls upon request from represented jurisdictions as needed.

The represented jurisdictions are:

• County of Butte
• City of Biggs
• City of Chico
• City of Gridley
• City of Oroville
• Town of Paradise