Carl L. Plaugher was appointed the Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Rescue Department on December 18, 2000. He heads a fire department with over 1100 members serving over 700,000 citizens. Chief Plaugher's career spans more than 36 years as a fire service professional.

Prior to joining Orange County, Chief Plaugher held the position of Fire Chief for the City of Savannah, Georgia. In that position, he had responsibility for directing the strategic and operational functions for one of our oldest, most beautiful urban cities. Before joining Savannah Fire and Emergency Services in 1997, Chief Plaugher was a member of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, Fairfax Virginia. In his 24 years career with Fairfax County, he held positions as firefighter, company officer, battalion chief, and both deputy fire chief in field operations, as well as three years as Deputy Fire Chief, EMS Division.

Chief Plaugher earned a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Administration and Technology from George Mason University, and graduated from Northern Virginia Community College with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Fire Science. In addition, Chief Plaugher graduated from the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program and is a Certified Fire Officer, as designated by the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and National Fire Protection Association, and is a contributor to the 1996 book entitled Model Procedures Guide for High-Rise Fire Fighting.