Section 81677.

The governing board of any community college district may establish and operate a fire department upon any community college campus governed by it and located wholly outside any city, fire protection district or other local agency which provides fire protection service. No such fire department shall be established until the board has first received approval in writing from the local agency formation commission for the county in which all or the major portion of such campus is located.

The board of trustees of any district within which the fire department is established pursuant to this section may enter into mutual aid agreements with other governmental agencies providing fire protection, and may contract with owners or occupants of property within the vicinity of the campus on which such department is located for fire protection service, but only during such time as such property is not within the territory of any city, fire protection district or other local agency which provides fire protection service.

Any fire department established pursuant to this section may be continued notwithstanding the subsequent annexation of any portion of the campus on which it is located to any city, fire protection district or other local agency providing fire protection service. As used in this section, the operation of a fire department shall be deemed to include the maintenance and operation of ambulances and rescue and first aid services.

During the time any department is operated pursuant to this section, the board may on behalf of its fire department maintain membership in any local, state or national group or association organized or operated for the promotion or the preservation of life and property from the hazards of fire and panic.

(Enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010.)