Question:
I was wondering the difference between a Fire Department and a Fire Protection District. Someone explained it to me once, something to the effect that a Department reports directly to the city government, like the council or board of supervisors and a district has it's own legislative board or something like that.I was told once that the LACoFD is actually the Los Angeles County Consolidated Fire Protection District so I was wondering exactly how all that works.

Answer: -Depending on where you are, it has different meanings. In Missouri, anyone can start a fire department, but a Fire Protection District is recognized as a specific area covered by a specific department, by vote of the citizens. Normally used as departments go tax based...

-A fire department is a fire supression/ safety service subsidized by indirect funding - i.e.: from a municipal, county or corporate budget. The fire chief directly reports to a municipal or county administrator or some form of corporate management. Most suburban and urban fire departments are units of your local government. A fire protection district is a political subdivision chartered under your state's constitution, just like a school, library or sewer district. They are empowered to directly levy taxes against their consitiuents for an operating budget, enact ordinances regarding fire safety and supression and are not required to end their boundaries at the municipal corporate boundaries. They frequently cover several townships or extend into adjacent unincorporated areas. The fire chief reports to a board of directors elected at public elections for the fire protection district. Direct public accountability is through the board of directors, not through your town's elected politicians (the mayor of your city cannot command the fire district to do anything). Some rapidly developing suburban departments and most rural departments are actually districts.