The Los Angeles Fire Department provides firefighting services as well as technical rescue services, hazardous materials services and emergency medical services to the citizens of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The LAFD is responsible for approximately four million people who live in the agency's 471 square miles (1,220 km2) jurisdiction. The Los Angeles Fire Department was founded in 1886 and is the third largest municipal fire department in the United States, after the New York City Fire Department and the Chicago Fire Department. The department is sometimes also referred to as the Los Angeles City Fire Department or "LA City Fire" to distinguish it from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which serves unincorporated areas and, via contracts, other incorporated municipalities within Los Angeles County without their own fire departments. The department is currently under the command of Chief Kristin Crowley.
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for fire suppression and fire prevention, and is a major provider of EMS services in New York City. Beyond fire suppression and EMS, the FDNY is responsible for a broad range of services, including technical rescue, CBRN defense, and structural collapse response and analysis. The FDNY is equipped with a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized Vehicles,Tools and Equipment to serve its varied missions.
The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides firefighting services along with emergency medical response services, hazardous materials mitigation services, and technical rescue response services in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. The Chicago Fire Department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the United States after the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). It is also one of the oldest major organized fire departments in the nation. It has numerous general purpose and specialized vehicles and equipment to accomplish its missions.
The Seattle Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The department is responsible for an area of 142.5 square miles (369 km2), including 193 miles (311 km) of waterfront, with a population of 713,700. There is a total of 1,065 employees with 981 uniformed personnel and 84 civilian employees.
The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) provides firefighting, hazardous materials response services, technical rescue services and emergency medical response services to the City and County of San Francisco, California.
The Buffalo Fire Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Buffalo, New York. The department serves a population of 278,349 people in a geographic area of 40.38 square miles (104.6 km2).
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) is an all-risk, all-hazards fire department, providing fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of San Diego, California, United States. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the state of California, after Los Angeles and responds to nearly 162,000 calls per year. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department covers 343 square miles of service area including 17 miles of coastline, with responsibility extending 3 miles offshore.
The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for seven other cities within the county. Together, these areas compose the Ventura County Fire Protection District in the state of California, USA. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors is the fire district's board of directors. These five elected supervisors appoint the fire chief, and task him with providing fire protection services for the district.
The Boston Fire Department provides fire services and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It also responds to such incidents as motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material spills, utility mishaps, floods, explosions, and construction accidents among others.
The Detroit Fire Department (DFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan.
Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with buckets. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
The New Orleans Fire Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The department serves 378,715 people living in a 350 square miles (910 km2) area, including 170 square miles (440 km2) of water.
The New Haven Fire Department (NHFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Fire Department currently serves a population of over 130,000 people living in 19 square miles of land and is one of the largest fire departments in the state.
The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1797 and established in 1859, the Baltimore City Fire Department covers an area of 81 square miles (210 km2) of land and 11 square miles (28 km2) of water, with a resident population of over 640,000 and a daytime population of over 1,000,000. The BCFD responds to approximately 235,000 emergency calls annually. There are two International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) locals; IAFF 734 for firefighters and IAFF 964 for officers.
The Phoenix Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The department responded to 186,594 calls during 2014–2015, with 88% being for emergency medical services. The Phoenix Fire Department currently protects 1.5 million residents spread across an area of 520 square miles (1,300 km2).
The San Rafael Fire Department (SRFD) provides fire and emergency medical services to the City of San Rafael, California. The San Rafael Fire Department serves an estimated population of 72,000 people with approximately 70 firefighting and emergency medical field personnel. The ISO Class 1 department responds to, on average, approximately 9,000 emergency calls annually, with about 70% being emergency medical calls. EMS patients are transported to the hospital of their choice, unless the call is urgent.
The Newark Fire Division provides Fire Protection Services,Hazardous Materials Mitigation Services,Emergency Medical Response Services and Specialized Rescue Services in the city of Newark, New Jersey. With a population of 311,549 it is New Jersey's largest city. In all the division is responsible for protecting 26.107 sq mi (67.617 km). Originally separate departments, the Police, Fire, Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security were consolidated into a Department of Public Safety under Mayor Ras J. Baraka. The Division is part of the Metro Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) Strike Team which is composed of nine north Jersey fire departments working together to address major emergency and rescue situations.
The Worcester Fire Department (WFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. The department serves an area of 39 square miles (100 km2) with a population of 183,000 residents.
The San José Fire Department (SJFD) provides firefighting, rescue and emergency medical services to the city of San Jose, California, United States. The San Jose Fire Department protects the third largest city in California and the tenth largest city in the nation.
The Vancouver Fire Department (VFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Vancouver and, by contract to Clark County Fire District 5, in Washington, United States. The VFD's response area is 91 square miles (240 km2) with a population of over 294,000 (2023). The VFD has the highest call volume per firefighter in the state. ALS transport is provided by AMR, making the VFD's service area population by far the largest in Western Washington without public ALS ambulance service.
