Orange County, the sixth-wealthiest county in the state, has an annual firefighting budget of about $260 million.
The Fire Authority has roughly one firefighter for every 1,100 people in the county's coverage area.
But that figure climbs dramatically -- one firefighter for every 1,800 residents -- if only full-time, professional firefighters are counted.
By comparison, Ventura County has twice as many firefighters per capita, approaching 900.
Los Angeles County's ratio of one firefighter per 1,500 residents is about 16% stronger than Orange County's.
San Bernardino County according to the Annual Fire Report 2006 has 2,022,442 residents. With County staffing of 684 fire fighters for a County per capita ratio of 1 firefighter for every 2,956 residents.
