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.
Fire police are volunteer fire brigade/company 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.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 districts, and shares responsibility for fire services with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), which employs full-time paid firefighters in major urban areas; and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), which manages fire prevention and suppression on Victoria's public lands. CFA operations and equipment are partly funded by the Victorian Government through its Fire Services Levy, and supplemented by individual brigades' fundraising for vehicles and equipment.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales.
As firefighting has a rich history throughout the world, traditions in this profession vary widely from country to country.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department (VBFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The department protects an area of 249 square miles (640 km2) as well as 59 square miles (150 km2) of inland waterways and 38 miles (61 km) of shoreline. The independent city is home to a population of 450,882, not including the summer population growth due to tourism, making it the most populous city in Virginia and the 39th largest city in the United States.
A fire chief or fire commissioner is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department.
The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) provides fire services for the city of Calgary, Alberta.
International Fire Service Training Association is an association of fire service personnel who are dedicated to upgrading fire fighting and other emergency response techniques and safety through training. The mission of IFSTA is to identify areas of need for training materials and to foster the development and validation of training materials for the fire service and related areas. IFSTA publishes such manuals as the Essentials of Fire Fighting, Fire and Emergency Services Instructor, Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer, Chief Officer, Building Construction Related to the Fire Service, Hazardous Materials for First Responders, and many others, in both print and eBook formats. Other training materials produced by IFSTA include curricula, study guides, videos, apps, and the ResourceOne course management system.
A combination fire department is a type of fire department which consists of both career and volunteer firefighters. In the United States, combination fire departments are typically tax-supported in some fashion, and generally have an annual call volume larger than purely volunteer departments but less than career departments.
An ex officio member is a member of a body who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ex officio is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right of office'; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for preventing and investigating loss of life and destruction of property caused by fire. OSFM accomplishes its mission through public education, criminal investigations, building inspections, and fire code enforcement activities.
The Dutchess County Department Of Emergency Response has the responsibility of governing Emergency operations in Dutchess County, New York. This encompasses Police, Fire and EMS.
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 National Fire Academy (NFA) is one of two schools in the United States operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Operated and governed by the United States Fire Administration (USFA) as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the NFA is the country’s pre-eminent federal fire training and education institution. The original purpose of the NFA as detailed in a 1973 report to Congress was to “function as the core of the Nation’s efforts in fire service education—feeding out model programs, curricula, and information…”
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 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.
The Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service is a 40-member, bi-partisan board appointed by the Governor. Its mission is to improve Illinois communities by enhancing traditional volunteer activities and supporting national service programs. The Commission is accomplishing this mission through the support of local community-based efforts to enhance volunteer opportunities and the administration of Illinois' AmeriCorps programs.
Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) is a fire and rescue service in the state of Victoria, Australia, that provides firefighting, rescue, HAZMAT and Emergency Medical Response services in areas of metropolitan Melbourne and major regional centres throughout Victoria.
