A fire department or fire brigade, also known as a 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.
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 provides Fire Suppression, Technical Rescue, EMS and Hazardous Materials Response Services around the entire city. The FDNY is equipped with a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized fire apparatus and vehicles to serve its varied missions.
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.
The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides Firefighting services as well as Emergency Medical Response Services,Technical Rescue Services and Hazardous Materials 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.
"NFPA 704: Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response" is a standard maintained by the U.S.-based National Fire Protection Association. First "tentatively adopted as a guide" in 1960, and revised several times since then, it defines the "Safety Square" or "Fire Diamond" which is used to quickly and easily identify the risks posed by hazardous materials. This helps determine what, if any, special equipment should be used, procedures followed, or precautions taken during the initial stages of an emergency response. It is an internationally accepted safety standard, and is crucial while transporting chemicals.
The Firefighters Association of the State of New York, more commonly known as FASNY, is an organization whose mission is to educate, serve and support volunteer firefighters in New York State. FASNY was founded in 1872 and its main headquarters are in Albany, New York. Originally known as the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York, it changed its name in 2022. FASNY currently has more than 40,000 members. The Firefighters's Association also maintains the FASNY Firemen's Home and the adjacent FASNY Museum of Firefighting in Hudson NY. FASNY provides information, education and training for the volunteer fire and emergency medical services throughout New York State. FASNY strives to recognize the true champions of these services through numerous awards programs. They also recognize educators for their work in fire prevention education. Additionally, FASNY provides legislative representation that monitors and takes action on topics of importance to the services.
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance to the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Fire and Rescue New South Wales, an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia, is responsible for firefighting, rescue and HazMat services in the major cities, metropolitan areas and towns across New South Wales. Fire and Rescue NSW is the fourth largest urban fire service in the world, with over 6,800 firefighters serving at 335 fire stations throughout the state, supported by 465 administrative and trades staff and 5,700 community fire unit volunteers. FRNSW are also the busiest fire service in Australia, attending over 124,000 incidents a year.
The government in Dallas, Texas is primarily vested in the Dallas City Council, Mayor, and City Manager. There is also the Dallas Police Department, Dallas Fire-Rescue, and the Dallas municipal courts. In the 2006–2007 fiscal year, the city's total budget was $2.3 billion.
Fire services in the York Region of Canada are provided for and by each municipality. There are 35 fire stations across the region. Most services consist of full-time members, but some services have volunteer firefighters.
Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services provides fire protection, rescue and first responder assistance throughout Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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.
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.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services is a California cabinet-level office responsible for overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities within the state. The agency was created by AB 38 (2008), superseding both the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Office of Homeland Security (OHS).
The U.S. Department of Defense employs civilians who are stationed at military bases to work as firefighters. These personnel have their own uniforms and equipment, but are not considered to be members of a military unit. They are responsible for firefighting, but they may also receive aid from military units. Each U.S. Defense Department firefighter has his or her own uniform, usually a dark blue suit with a badge and a shoulder patch indicating his or her status. They wear dark blue pants per United States Army regulation, but shirts can be dark blue, light blue, or white depending on the person's rank. This only applies to this organization, and not the Department of Defense.
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 spread across 408 square miles (1,060 km2).
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is the leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue services. Founded in 1976, the NVFC serves as the voice of the volunteer in the national arena and provides tools, resources, programs, and advocacy for first responders across the nation.
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.
The San Jose 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, 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 288,000 (2021). 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.
