The Los Angeles Fire Department provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and rescue services to the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The LAFD is responsible for approximately 4 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 one of the largest municipal fire departments in the United States, after the New York City Fire Department and the Chicago Fire Department. The department may be unofficially 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 the county and whose name may directly confuse people, as the county seat is the city. Another possible reason is that the city and the unincorporated County are often bordering each other and thus the two appear to be serving the same area. The department is currently under the command of chief Ralph Terrazas.
A fire department or fire brigade, also known as a fire authority or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides firefighting services. In some areas, they may also provide technical rescue, fire protection, fire investigation, emergency medical services, and hazardous material mitigation.
A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department consisting of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained firefighters are expected to be on call to respond to emergency calls for long periods of time, and are summoned to the fire station when their services are needed. They are also expected to attend other non-emergency duties as well.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through contracting, including the city of La Habra which is located in Orange County and is the first city outside of Los Angeles County to contract with LACoFD.
The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) provides fire, emergency medical, and allied public safety services for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church in Virginia, USA. It is highly regarded within the profession as an innovator and leader in enhancing the industry. Among its many firsts are the hiring of the first female career firefighter in the world in 1974 and partnering with the United States Public Health Service to develop America's first Metropolitan Medical Strike Team to respond to the consequences of a chemical, biological or radiological terrorist attack.
The New Zealand Fire Service was New Zealand's main firefighting body from 1 April 1976 until 1 July 2017 – at which point it was dissolved and incorporated into the new Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue is one of the largest fire departments in the State of Florida. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue provides fire protection, Advanced Life Support emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, aircraft rescue and firefighting, fire investigation, and 911 dispatching for unincorporated parts of Palm Beach County, Florida and 19 cities under contract.
Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department is the fire and rescue service provider for the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as the cities of Wilton Manors and Lazy Lake through service contracts. Additionally the FLFRD is responsible for ARFF at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. In 2013, the department responded to 44,387 calls for service.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a retained firefighter, also known as an RDS Firefighter or on-call firefighter, is a firefighter who does not work on a fire station full-time but is paid to spend long periods of time on call to respond to emergencies through the Retained Duty System. Many have full-time jobs outside of the fire service. Retained firefighters are employed and trained by the local fire and rescue service.
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 San Antonio Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of San Antonio, Texas. The department is the third largest fire department in the state of Texas. With over 1,800 members, the SAFD is responsible for a population of over 1.4 million people apread across 408 square miles (1,060 km2).
The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services provides fire protection, rescue, and emergency medical services to Howard County, Maryland.
The fire departments of Morris County, New Jersey are primarily volunteer services. The Morristown, Dover, Morris Township, Madison, Cedar Knolls, Whippany and Picatinny Arsenal fire departments are the only paid department in the county. Many departments are switching to the Morris County dispatch center.
The Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Protection District is one of the fourteen departments that make up the Jefferson County Fire Service. This department covers 61 square miles and serves the citizens of Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station in southwestern Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Hillsboro Fire & Rescue is the municipal fire department for the city of Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1880, the department operates five stations with six companies. The nationally accredited department has 123 members and is led by Chief David Downey.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue (TVF&R) is a special-purpose government fire fighting and emergency services district in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon. Established in 1989 with a merger between Washington County Fire District 1 and the Tualatin Rural Fire Protection District, it primarily provides fire and emergency medical services in eastern Washington County, but also provides services in neighboring Multnomah, Clackamas, and Yamhill counties. It serves unincorporated areas along with the cities of Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, West Linn, Wilsonville, and Sherwood, among others. With over 400 firefighters and 27 fire stations, the district is the second largest fire department in the state and has an annual budget of $197 million.
Washington County Fire District 2 (WCFD2) was a special-purpose government fire fighting and emergency services district in Washington County on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon. Established in 1952, it primarily provided fire and emergency medical services in the central portion of the county surrounding Hillsboro, including the city of North Plains. The District had two fire stations when it was absorbed by Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in 2017.
The Vancouver Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Vancouver and, by contract, Clark County Fire District 5, in Washington. The department's response area is 91 square miles (240 km2) with a population of over 270,000 (2019). The Vancouver Fire Department is chronically understaffed and underfunded- it has the dubious distinction of the highest call volume per firefighter in the state. ALS transport is provided by AMR, making Vancouver Fire's service area population by far the largest in Western Washington without public ALS ambulance service.
The Lompoc Fire Department (LFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Lompoc, California. The department's primary response area is approximately 12 square miles (31 km2) and includes the Lompoc Penitentiary.
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) provides firefighting, rescue, emergency medical services, and ambulance transport services for the unincorporated communities of Idyllwild and Fern Valley, in Southern California.
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