New ‘Light and Air’ apparatus moves into Oxnard Fire Station 5

The Oxnard Fire Department is excited to be adding a new emergency apparatus unit which is scheduled to be deployed on Thursday.

Its name is Light and Air 65. The Light and Air unit has been at its new home at Oxnard Fire Station 5 for nearly three weeks. Come Thursday, it will be ready to be put into service.

“Most larger departments do have Light and Air apparatus and now we are catching up,” said Oxnard Fire Captain Aaron Baker.

This unit isn’t your ordinary fire truck. It’s otherwise known as a ‘breathing support unit.’

“The main function is the air compressor that it carries,” said Luke Yessner, a firefighter with the Oxnard Fire Department. “Bottles are rated for 30 minutes, but they really only last for 10-15 minutes depending on what we are doing so we need to be able to refill them on scene.”

Being able to refill bottles on scene gives firefighters the oxygen they need to continue their work during an emergency.

“Up until now we relied on Ventura County to respond an Air and Light unit to incidents in our city,” said Yessner.

Light and Air 65 will respond to all hazardous material incidents, working fires, extended rescues, and be a helpful resource in the dark.

“If we have a night time operation where we need lights, its going to provided lighting,” said Yessner.

“The apparatus is important because, one we are more self sufficient in the city and we can take care of incidents without drawling apparatus from the county,” said Baker. “Normally they would have to come and fill our bottles for us which then depletes their resources and now we have the ability to do ours, or if there is another incident in the county we can go assist them in the same way.”