Orange County Fire Authority Pipes and Drums

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In the mid-1800's, many Irish and Scottish immigrants came to the United States, bringing with them many traditions and a beautiful instrument, the bagpipe.  Some of the only jobs that were available to many of these immigrants were in police and fire departments.  Because of this pipes and drums bands became a rooted part of the law enforcement and fire service communities, and are a part of many first responder funerals and ceremonies today. 

Pipes and drum bands are very prevalent in East Coast fire and police departments, and there are even some bands that consist of private citizens.  The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) in Southern California is one of the West Coast's prominent fire department pipes and drums bands.  Captain Alan Wilkes, the group's Director, explains, "It's an honor band to honor the fallen members of all the fire departments.  We are a full fire department band, and we were one of the first full fire department pipe bands west of the Mississippi."

According to Captain Marc Stone, the OCFA's Pipe Major, the concept for the band was formed in 1997, and they became an official band in 1999.  In the beginning, there were four members, and since it has grown to 20; however, all of the musicians do not play at once since some portion of the group will always be on duty in this career fire department.

The OCFA Pipes and Drums has three uniforms, two of which are traditional, and the third is a unique salute to the laid back Southern California lifestyle.  This uniform consists of Hawaiian shirts, flip-flops and a kilt made to resemble turnout gear.  This uniform is both popular among the bands' fans and with the members due to its lightweight feel, which is more comfortable during California's hot summers than their full formal uniform. Captain Stone explains, "Firefighters like to see that we've taken the actual material that we fight fires with, putting our names on the back, and it kind of resembles our traditional turnouts, if you will.  So it's a lot of fun and easy to put on."

Although their casual uniform is easy to put on, playing the bagpipes is far from simple, as Stone explains. The instrument is made up of a blowpipe, a flute-like piece called a chanter, a bag, and three long pieces, called drones (one base and two tenors), which produce the bagpipes' signature humming sound.  Demonstrating how the instrument works, Stone says, "You can see that the air comes out of four different places, one on the chanter and all three drones, so it makes it very difficult to play.  It's a hard instrument to play, not only physically but it's challenging just learning the notes and play the proper rhythm and beat."

The OCFA drummers come from a band background, according to Captain Wilkes.  Most of them have played since Junior High School or High School, and thus, many have had twenty or more years of experience.

The OCFA Pipes and Drums practices every other week, and performs between 35 and 50 times a year.  In addition to playing at fire department funerals across California and at OCFA fire department events, the group performs at parades, including the famous Tournament of Roses Parade.  One of their special performances was at a Rod Stewart concert, where they were met with great enthusiasm by concert attendees.

Captain Stone explains the mission of the band and the reason he and his fellow firefighters play, saying, "We have a good time doing this.  We build a lot of morale in the department and tradition, which we think is very important.  When we come marching in, it really gets the hair back up on everybody's neck, and they just really enjoy it.  They always talk about the Pipes and Drums coming in."

Captain Wilkes echoes this, saying, "It's just a great part for us to give back to the fire service, to come together and honor those who deserve to be honored, and to be such a showpiece and prideful organization for the Orange County Fire Authority and just continuing those proud traditions."


Author:Barbara Brooks - FDNNTV.com