Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue members will wear a 90th Anniversary Badge on their uniforms for the remainder of the year to pay tribute to the valued history of over 90 years of service to the community, dating back to its origins as a volunteer fire department under the leadership the first Fire Chief Fred Brush.
“Like so many great ideas in the fire service, this one came from one of our talented firefighters, Engineer Scott Purcell,” said Fire Chief Dan Stefano. “He deserves the credit for taking his idea of a 90th anniversary badge from its conception to full implementation. We are extremely proud of our storied history serving such an incredible and vibrant community and of Scott’s passion and dedication to bring the badge to life.”
Engineer Purcell, who worked with others on the design, sought input from the entire organization, in addition to working with our community partners.
“The badge encompasses multiple aspects from within our city, county and the fire service as a whole,” Engineer Purcell said.
The center of the badge pays tribute to the legendary Segerstrom Hall, with the lima beans and oranges on the sides representing the famed farming history of Costa Mesa and the County of Orange as a whole.
The bottom of the badge includes the individual identification number for each fire and rescue team member and the axes on either side of the badge are a signature tool of a firefighter.
The head of each axe highlights two significant numbers; the year the fire department was established and the number 343, which represents the number of firefighters that made the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001.
