Fire department

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Fire department vehicles outside a fire station in Middleborough, Massachusetts, United States Fire engines at station.JPG
Fire department vehicles outside a fire station in Middleborough, Massachusetts, United States

A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), [note 1] also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression services as well as other rescue services.

Contents

Fire departments are most commonly a public sector organization that operate within a municipality, county, state, nation, or special district. Private and specialist firefighting organizations also exist, such as those for aircraft rescue and firefighting. [1]

A fire department contains one or more fire stations within its boundaries, and may be staffed by firefighters, who may be professional, volunteers, conscripts, or on-call. Combination fire departments employ a mix of professional and volunteer firefighters. [2] In some countries, fire departments may also run an ambulance service, staffed by volunteer or professional EMS personnel.

Organization

Areal photograph of a public display by the German Fire Services Einsatzfahrzeuge.jpg
Areal photograph of a public display by the German Fire Services

Fire departments are organized in a system of administration, services, training, and operations; for example:

A fire service is normally set up where it can have fire stations, fire engines and other relevant equipment strategically deployed throughout the area it serves, so that dispatchers can send fire engines, fire trucks, or ambulances from the fire stations closest to the incident. Larger departments have branches within themselves to increase efficiency, composed of volunteers, support, and research.

Jurisdiction

Fire Station No. 1 in Los Angeles, California, United States, one of over 100 stations in the Los Angeles Fire Department LAFD Station - 1.JPG
Fire Station No. 1 in Los Angeles, California, United States, one of over 100 stations in the Los Angeles Fire Department

Most places are covered by a public sector fire department, which is established by a local or national government and funded by taxation. Even volunteer fire departments may still receive some government funding.

The typical size of a fire department varies greatly by country. In the United States, firefighting is usually organized on a municipal level. Some municipalities belong to "fire protection districts" that are served by the same fire department, such as the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. Austria, Germany and Canada also organize fire services at a municipal level. In France, fire services mostly cover one department. In the United Kingdom, most fire services cover one or more counties, while Scotland and Northern Ireland each have a single fire service. In Australia, state governments run the fire services, although three states have separate agencies for metropolitan and rural areas. Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, and the Philippines have national fire and rescue services.

Responsibilities

Firefighters taking part in a training exercise in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Vaughan Fire training.jpg
Firefighters taking part in a training exercise in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Fire departments may also provide other emergency services, such as aircraft rescue and firefighting, hazardous materials mitigation, technical rescue, and wildland firefighting.

In some countries or regions (e.g., the United States, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau), fire departments can be responsible for providing emergency medical services. The EMS personnel may either be cross-trained as firefighters or a separate division of emergency medical technicians and paramedics. While some services act only as "first responders" to medical emergencies, stabilizing victims until an ambulance can arrive, other fire services also operate ambulance services.

History

Knox Automobile produced the first modern fire engine in 1905 Knoxfireengine.jpg
Knox Automobile produced the first modern fire engine in 1905
A 1951 Dennis P12 fire tender as formerly used by the Wiltshire Fire Brigade Dennis1951FireTender.jpg
A 1951 Dennis P12 fire tender as formerly used by the Wiltshire Fire Brigade
A Fire and Rescue NSW truck in 2008 NSW Fire Brigades Pumper Class 2 and rescue.jpg
A Fire and Rescue NSW truck in 2008
Polish Firefighters from Nowy Sacz, Special Rescue Group with rescue dogs Grupa Ratownictwa Specjalnego Ochotniczej Strazy Pozarnej z Nowego Sacza.jpg
Polish Firefighters from Nowy Sącz, Special Rescue Group with rescue dogs

Ancient Rome

The earliest known firefighting service was formed in Ancient Rome by Marcus Egnatius Rufus who used his slaves to provide a free fire service. [3] These men fought fires using bucket chains and also patrolled the streets with the authority to impose corporal punishment upon those who violated fire-prevention codes. The Emperor Augustus established a public fire department in 24 BCE, composed of 600 slaves distributed amongst seven fire stations in Rome. [4]

1600s and 1700s

Fire departments were again formed by property insurance companies beginning in the 17th century after the Great Fire of London in 1666. The first insurance brigades were established the following year. [5] Others began to realize that a lot of money could be made from this practice, and ten more insurance companies set up in London before 1832: The Alliance, Atlas, Globe, Imperial, London, Protector, Royal Exchange, Sun Union and Westminster. [6] Each company had its own fire mark, a durable plaque that would be affixed to the building exterior. Although a popular legend says a company's fire brigade would not extinguish a burning building if it did not have the correct fire mark, there is little evidence to support this; evidence shows insurance companies required their firefighters to fight every fire they encountered. [7]

Amsterdam also had a sophisticated firefighting system in the late 17th century, under the direction of artist Jan van der Heyden, who had improved the designs of both fire hoses and fire pumps. [8]

The city of Boston, Massachusetts established America's first publicly funded, paid fire department in 1678. [9] [10] [11]

Fire insurance made its debut in the American colonies in South Carolina in 1736, but it was Benjamin Franklin who imported the London model of insurance. He established the colonies' first fire insurance company in Philadelphia named the Philadelphia Contributionship, [5] as well as its associated Union Volunteer Fire Company, which was an unpaid (volunteer) company. [12]

A document dated in 1686 informs about the payment system of four so called "fire servants" (German: Feuerknecht) in Vienna, which is the official founding year of the Vienna Fire Department.

In 1754, [13] Halifax, Nova Scotia established the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, which is today Canada's oldest fire department.

Plaque with the history of the department in Haddonfield, New Jersey Haddonfield fire department history.jpg
Plaque with the history of the department in Haddonfield, New Jersey

In 1764, Haddonfield, New Jersey established the second oldest fire company in the United States.

Another early American fire department, staffed by unpaid volunteers, [14] was established in the city of Petersburg, Virginia in 1773. [15] [16]

1800s

In the 19th century, the practice of fire brigades refusing to put out fires in buildings that were uninsured led to the demand of central command for fire companies. [17] Cities began to form their own fire departments as a civil service to the public, obliging private fire companies to shut down, many merging their fire stations into the city's fire department. In 1833, London's ten independent brigades all merged to form the London Fire Engine Establishment (LFEE), with James Braidwood as the Chief Officer. [18] Braidwood had previously been the fire chief in Edinburgh, where the world's first municipal fire service was founded in 1824, and he is now regarded, along with Van der Heyden, as one of founders of modern firefighting. [8] The LFEE then was incorporated into the city's Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1865 under Eyre Massey Shaw.

In 1879, the University of Notre Dame established the first University-based fire department in the United States. [19]

1900s

The first motorized fire department was organized in 1906 in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Knox Automobile had developed the first modern fire engine one year earlier. [20]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In the United States, a fire brigade is the private firefighting organization of a company or enterprise, operated under rules from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volunteer fire department</span> Fire department composed of volunteers

A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Fire Department</span> Fire department of the city of Chicago

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefighting</span> Actions to prevent damage from fire

Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural firefighting and wildland firefighting. Specialized training includes aircraft firefighting, shipboard firefighting, aerial firefighting, maritime firefighting, and proximity firefighting.

Fire police are fire department members who, based upon their jurisdictional authority, receive sworn police powers, special training, and support firefighting efforts at emergency incidents. In addition to securing firefighting equipment, incident and fire scenes, and the station itself, fire police perform traffic and crowd control. In some jurisdictions, fire police are exterior firefighters and may be called upon at fire scenes to perform any of the duties of an interior firefighter except those that require a self-contained breathing apparatus. On occasion, fire police also assist regular police: they perform road closures, traffic control, crowd control at public events, missing persons searches, parade details, salvage, security, and other miscellaneous tasks as requested.

Junior firefighting is a youth activity mostly organized by fire departments. It serves as a means of personal development for the youths, as well as a recruiting pool for the fire departments.

As firefighting has a rich history throughout the world, traditions in this profession vary widely from country to country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of firefighting</span> Civic fire extinguishing over the ages

The history of organized firefighting began in ancient Rome while under the rule of the first Roman Emperor Augustus. Prior to that, Ctesibius, a Greek citizen of Alexandria, developed the first fire pump in the third century BC, which was later improved upon in a design by Hero of Alexandria in the first century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Fire Department</span>

The Philadelphia Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) to the city of Philadelphia. The PFD's official mission is to protect public safety by quick and professional response to emergencies and through the promotion of sound emergency prevention measures. This mandate encompasses all traditional firefighting functions, including fire suppression, with 58 Engine companies and 27 Ladder companies as well as specialty and support units deployed throughout the city; specialized firefighting units for Philadelphia International Airport and the Port of Philadelphia; investigations conducted by the Fire Marshal's Office to determine the origins of fires and to develop preventive strategies; prevention programs to educate the public in order to increase overall fire safety; and support services such as: research and planning, management of the Fire Communications Center within the City's 911 system, and operation of the Fire Academy.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to firefighting:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of fire brigades in the United Kingdom</span>

The history of fire brigades in the United Kingdom charts the development of fire services in the United Kingdom from the creation of the United Kingdom to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in firefighting</span>

Firefighting has historically been a predominantly male profession throughout the world. However, since the 1970s, women have made inroads in both professional and volunteer fire departments in multiple countries. In modern times, women have served in a variety of fire service roles including as fire chiefs. Nonetheless, they comprise less than 20% of firefighters even in the countries where they are best represented.

Firefighting is the act of extinguishing destructive fires. A firefighter fights these fires with the intent to prevent destruction of life, property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical profession, which requires years of training and education in order to become proficient. A fire can rapidly spread and endanger many lives; however, with modern firefighting techniques, catastrophe can usually be avoided. To help prevent fires from starting, a firefighter's duties include public education and conducting fire inspections. Because firefighters are often the first responders to victims in critical conditions, firefighters often also provide basic life support as emergency medical technicians or advanced life support as licensed paramedics. Firefighters make up one of the major emergency services, along with the emergency medical service, the police, and many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefighting in the United States</span> Firefighting

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Savannah Fire & Emergency Services (SFES) provides fire protection to the city of Savannah, Georgia, United States. The professional fire department is active 24/7 and 365 days a year, and has about 325 paid employees. They received an ISO Class 1 rating in November 2014, and CFAI accreditation in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Fire Department</span>

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The Hellenic Fire Service is the national fire and rescue service of Greece. It is part of the Ministry for Citizen Protection.

Fire Departments of Pakistan provides fire brigade and emergency services in Pakistan Commanding Officer ShadowWqve Deputy Commanding officer Rated Sider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munich Fire Department</span> Firefighting authority of Munich, Germany

The Munich Fire Department is the firefighting authority of the City of Munich. The Munich fire department is divided into a professional department with approximately 1500 fire fighters staffing a total of 10 fire stations located strategically throughout the city to meet the legal aid period of 10 Minutes, and a volunteer fire department, whose approximately 1,050 members are organized in 22 companies. Each year, the Munich Fire Department responds to about 80,000 calls. The volunteers respond to about 3,500 calls annually. This makes the Munich Fire Department the third largest fire department as well as the largest municipal fire department in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma County Fire District</span>

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A Special operations firefighter, also known as Fire Service Special Operations, is a specialist firefighter who has been specially trained to execute tasks other than standard firefighting operations. The National Fire Protection Association's Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments defines special operations as "Those emergency incidents to which the fire department responds that require specific and advanced training and specialized tools and equipment". The NFPA 1710 further defined special operations as "Special operations include water rescue, extrication, hazardous materials, confined space entry, highangle rescue, aircraft rescue and fire fighting, and other operations requiring specialized training".

References

  1. ↑ Madrigal, Alexis C. (14 November 2018). "Kim Kardashian's Private Firefighters Expose America's Fault Lines". The Atlantic . Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ↑ Cote, Arthur E. (2003). "Basics of Fire and Fire Science". Organizing for Fire And Rescue Services. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 92. ISBN   978-0-87765-577-0.
  3. ↑ "Fire-brigades in the Roman realm". Economypoint.org. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  4. ↑ Coe, Charles K. (February 2009). Handbook of Urban Services: A Basic Guide for Local Governments. M.E. Sharpe. p. 29. ISBN   978-0-7656-2294-5.
  5. 1 2 Cote, Arthur E.; Bugbee, Percy (December 1988). Principles of fire protection. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 6. ISBN   978-0-87765-345-5 . Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "From Fire Marks to James Braidwood, the Surveyor who set up the Fire Brigade". Independent Surveyors Association. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "Early insurance brigades". London Fire Brigade. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  8. 1 2 Hensler, Bruce (2011). Crucible of Fire: Nineteenth-Century Urban Fires and the Making of the Modern Fire Service. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 1–2. ISBN   978-1-59797-684-8.
  9. ↑ Klinoff, Robert (2007). "Public Fire Protection". Introduction to Fire Protection, 3rd Edition. Thomson Delmar Learning. p. 59. ISBN   978-1-4180-0177-3.
  10. ↑ "History - City of Boston". February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Boston History Before 1859". Boston Fire Historical Society. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  12. ↑ IFSTA (2004). Fire Service Orientation and Terminology. Fire Protection Publications, University of Oklahoma. ISBN   978-0-87939-232-1.
  13. ↑ "Museum shows off Canada's oldest fire department's history". The Chronicle Herald.
  14. ↑ "Petersburg, VA - Official Website - Fire Department History".
  15. ↑ ""Established in 1773, the Petersburg Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services is one of the oldest organized fire departments in the country"". Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Petersburg, VA - Official Website - Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services".
  17. ↑ Anderson, Annelise. "The Development of Municipal Fire Departments in the United States" (PDF). Mises Institute. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "James Braidwood and the London Fire Engine Establishment (LFEE)". London Fire Brigade. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  19. ↑ ENR/PAZ // University Communications: Web // University of Notre Dame. "NDFD, nation's oldest university fire department, turns 135".
  20. ↑ KNOX AUTOMOBILE COMPANY Accessed: 27 April 2012
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