This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject , potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral.(October 2021) |
Operational area | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
City | Fort Worth |
Agency overview [1] | |
Annual calls | 136,242 (2022) |
Employees | 1,036 (2023) |
Annual budget | $193,272,915 (2023) |
Staffing | Career |
Fire chief | James (Jim) Davis |
EMS level | ALS |
IAFF | 440 |
Facilities and equipment [1] | |
Battalions | 7 |
Stations | 46 (45 year round, 1 seasonal) |
Engines | 38 (1 seasonal) |
Trucks | 4 |
Quints | 14 |
Rescues | 3 |
Tenders | 2 |
HAZMAT | 1 |
Airport crash | 5 |
Wildland | 15 |
Rescue boats | 3 |
Light and air | 3 |
Website | |
Official website | |
IAFF website |
The Fort Worth Fire Department provides firefighting, rescue and emergency medical services to the city of Fort Worth, Texas. [1]
The Fort Worth Fire Department provides Fire protection, Fire prevention, Arson Investigation, and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Fort Worth, Texas
In 1872 Fort Worth was incorporated by the Texas Legislature. It experienced rapid growth, later that year, when the plans for the Texas and Pacific Railway were announced. At that time most of the structures in the city were poorly built wooden structures or tents that burned easily. As was customary at the time, these structures were heated by wood stoves or fireplaces. Due to these conditions, large destructive fires were commonplace.
In 1873 Captain Buckley C. Paddock organized the Fort Worth's first fire company, Hook and Ladder Company #1. The company consisted of 60 volunteers. The company began raising funds and purchased a hook and ladder wagon for $600. Three years later a Silsby steam engine was purchased for the sum of $6,250 and the city soon realized that it need a reliable source of water for fire fighting. The city council then allocated the sum of $1,025 for the construction of 3 cisterns. These cisterns collectively held 63,000 gallons of water.
In 1882 Fort Worth constructed a system of water mains. This system had six miles of piping and a capacity of 4 million gallons of water a day. The city also installed an electric fire alarm system, the first ever in Texas, and 11 Gamewell pull boxes. However these and other fire department improvements had begun to strain the city's budget.
On the night of May 30, 1890 a fire broke out on the second floor of the Texas Spring Palace. An estimated 7,000 people were there when the fire started. In minutes, the building was engulfed in flames and guests began jumping out of second-story windows. There only one fatality, an Englishman named Al Hayne, who perished after rescuing several people from the fire. The fire at the Spring Palace became the catalyst for further improvements in fire equipment and personnel: on December 1, 1893, Fort Worth's first professional fire company was incorporated. [3]
1904 saw the beginning of the tradition of Fort Worth Fire Department apparatus being painted white. That year, Station #5 had been selected to represent Fort Worth at the annual Texas State Pump race at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. The members of Company #5 were unable to take their regular apparatus and instead had to use a reserve pumper. The pumper was in poor shape, and with the city unwilling to provide funding, the men raised the money themselves. They took the pumper to E.E. Lennox buggy works and asked Mr. Lennox to make it the prettiest wagon he could. When the members of the company returned, they found the wagon painted white with the trim and lettering in gold. The company won the races and the $250 prize that year. Thereafter, citizens of Fort Worth began to compliment the fire department on how beautiful the wagon was. Pleased with all of the compliments, the fire chief declared that all new and refurbished equipment was to be painted white. Fort Worth's apparatus were completely white until 1981, when a blue stripe was added. [4]
On April 3, 1909, the Fort Worth Fire Department responded to a fire on the city's south side. Aided by a 40 mph wind, the fire quickly grew and a general alarm was soon sounded. Two of the department's engines crashed while en route to the fire. Engine Company #8 crashed into a telephone pole and Hose Company #5 was also put out of action when one of its horses slipped and broke a leg. The fire grew so hot that the rubber hoses the department was using melted. [5] The fire burned out of control until it came to the natural barrier created by the Texas and Pacific Railroad's locomotive roundhouse, shops, and yard. This barrier prevented the fire from spreading further north, thus sparing the downtown area. When the fire was finally put out, more than 26 square blocks and 290 structures, including the Texas and Pacific station, were destroyed. [6]
In 1909 the city began purchasing motorized equipment for the department. The first motorized vehicle was a car at the cost of $2,140. By 1919 the department was completely motorized and all horse-drawn equipment was withdrawn from service. During these years the department hired its first Fire Marshal and the city began adopting several progressive fire codes.
During the 1920s and 1930s the department continued to expand along with the city. A new downtown headquarters and signal station at 1000 Cherry Street, designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick, began operation in December of 1930. [7] The department unionized in 1935. The union began pressing for a minimum wage law and in 1937 the Texas legislature passed the desired legislation. This put a strain on the already depleted city coffers, and the city was only able to pay about 75% of the minimum wage. The union sued for back pay, but the fire chief declared he was unable to back the lawsuit.
During WWII, Fort Worth had difficulty replacing its older fire apparatus as the military had preference for all heavy equipment purchases. The city had been able to purchase some new equipment in the years before the US entered the war, but with 21 stations and the city expanding to 100 square miles, the department's resources were stretched thin. During this time, relations between the department management and the union continued to deteriorate. This came to a head in 1945 when the city manager demoted the fire chief to captain.
The post-war era saw many changes to the department, which was finally able to replace its outdated equipment. In 1947, the Texas Legislature passed a civil service act requiring police and fire departments to implement a competitive promotion system. This same law also forbade police and firefighters from going on strike.
During the 1950s the department began numerous public relations campaigns aimed at fire prevention. To this end, the Fire Safety division of the department was created in 1956. During the first six months, 415 programs taught 81,000 people about fire safety and prevention.
1961 saw two firsts for the department. The department formed its first squad company to help with medical emergencies. In years prior, all department personnel had received training in first aid from the American Red Cross, but advances in rescue techniques and equipment led to the availability of more innovative training. The department also formed its dive team in 1961, using SCUBA techniques modeled after those used by famed French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.
Also during the 1960s, the city spent almost $1.5 million replacing equipment and remodeling its fire stations. The biggest change was the opening of the city's Fire and Police Training center. Initially criticized, the training center proved to be a great success and was studied by cities nationwide.
The 1970s and 1980s saw many changes to the department. The police and fire departments had been reorganized into the city's public safety department, while the fire department was also internally reorganized. A first responder program was initiated to train all firefighters as EMTs, and HAZMAT teams were formed during this time to respond to incidents where hazardous materials were involved. The department began requiring all of its members to participate in a physical fitness program. This program also mandated yearly physicals, at the department's expense.
Since the 1980s, the department has added new firehouses in the rapidly-growing area of Far North Fort Worth and replaced outdated firehouses throughout the city. [5]
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.
Green Village is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within portions of both Harding Township and Chatham Township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located just north of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It is named after Ashbel Green, former president of Princeton University.
Toronto Fire Services (TFS), commonly called Toronto Fire, provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Fire Services is currently the largest municipal fire department in Canada.
American LaFrance (ALF) was an American vehicle manufacturer which focused primarily on the production of fire engines, ladder trucks, and emergency apparatus such as ambulance and rescue vehicles. Originally located in Elmira, New York, the final iteration of the company was located in Summerville, South Carolina. It also operated a plant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it sold apparatus under the name LaFrance-Foamite, until 1971.
The Orange Fire Department (OFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Orange, California. The department is responsible for a population of approximately 140,000 people spread across 27 square miles (70 km2). Along with their standard firefighting apparatus, the department also has a Swiftwater rescue team that is available for deployment anywhere in Orange County.
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.
Established in 1917, the Presidio Fire Department provides primary emergency response to the Presidio of San Francisco.
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 Underwriter's Salvage Corps in Cincinnati, Ohio was created and operated by the Underwriters Association, a syndicate of Cincinnati-based fire insurance companies, for the purpose of reducing financial losses to their companies from claims due to building fires by providing a company of trained men with proper equipment to work in conjunction with the city fire department to protect life, structures and their contents from fire, smoke damage, and damage from the water that was used to fight the fire. The Salvage Corps worked to save and protect the structure and its contents while the city fire department concentrated on rescuing persons from the burning structure and extinguishing the flames. The Salvage Corps provided this service to all property owners without charge, whether they were insured or not.
The Kansas City Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical service for Kansas City, Missouri, and under contract to Village of the Oaks, Village of Oakwood Park, and Village of Oakwood. It provides fire protection only under contract to City of Lake Waukomis, City of Platte Woods, City of Weatherby Lake, and Village of Ferrelview. In addition, it provides EMS support under contract for the City of Riverside. It operates 35 fire stations, one dedicated EMS operations facility housing dynamically deployed ambulances, organized into seven battalions and cover 318 square miles (820 km2).
The Engine House No. 11 is a fire station located at 2737 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest remaining firehouse in the city of Detroit; it was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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 Loudoun County Combined Fire-Rescue System (LC-CFRS) is made up of the career Loudoun County Fire and Rescue (LCFR) and 16 volunteer organizations. LC-CFRS has the responsibility of protecting the citizens and property of the towns, villages, and suburbs of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, and technical rescue response services, including Hazardous Materials mitigation, Mass Casualty Incident response services, environmental danger response services and more. The headquarters and training facilities of the department are in Leesburg, off Sycolin Road.
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 Yonkers Fire Department (YFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Yonkers, New York, United States.
The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department (BMFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York and its hamlet Scarborough. The volunteer fire department also serves unincorporated areas of Ossining and Mount Pleasant. The fire department has three fire companies, two stations, and four fire engines. Its engines include three pumpers and a tower-ladder; the department also maintains other vehicles, including a heavy rescue vehicle. The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department Ambulance Corps provides emergency medical transport with two ambulances. The fire department is headquartered at the Briarcliff Manor Village Hall, with its other station in Scarborough, on Scarborough Road.
Portland Fire and Rescue, also known as the Portland Fire Bureau, and sometimes informally the Portland Fire Department, is the principle fire suppression, prevention, and rescue agency of the City of Portland, Oregon, United States. The department is the largest fire protection and emergency medical services provider in the state of Oregon, responsible for an area of 151 square miles (390 km2), with a population of over 632,309. Oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City Commissioners. As of 2023, Mayor Ted Wheeler has assigned the Fire Bureau to Commissioner Rene Gonzalez.
The Chief Lippert Fire Station, also known as Chemical Engine House No. 1, is a historic fire station built in 1876, two miles north of Milwaukee's central business district. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Harrisburg Bureau of Fire (HBF) is a firefighting agency that is located in and serves Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is a career firefighting agency with at least 15 firefighters and fire officers on duty at any given time, supplemented with volunteer staffing as well. Everyday duties for the Bureau include fire suppression, emergency medical services, tactical rescue, urban search and rescue, water rescue, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, fire codes enforcement, and public safety educations.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)