A firefighter is a first responder trained in firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires that threaten life and property, as well as to rescue persons from confinement or dangerous situations. Male firefighters are sometimes referred to as firemen.
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.
A fire department or fire brigade, 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.
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 providing Fire Suppression Services,Specialized Hazardous Materials Response Services,Emergency Medical Response Services and Specialized Technical Rescue Services in the entire city.
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.
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.
Firefighting jargon includes a diverse lexicon of both common and idiosyncratic terms. One problem that exists in trying to create a list such as this is that much of the terminology used by a particular department is specifically defined in their particular standing operating procedures, such that two departments may have completely different terms for the same thing. For example, depending on whom one asks, a safety team may be referred to as a standby, a RIT or RIG or RIC, or a FAST. Furthermore, a department may change a definition within its SOP, such that one year it may be RIT, and the next RIG or RIC.
A fire station is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire hoses and other specialized equipment. Fire stations frequently contain working and living space for the firefighters and support staff.
As firefighting has a rich history throughout the world, traditions in this profession vary widely from country to country.
The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) provides firefighting, hazardous materials response services, technical rescue services and emergency medical response services to the City and County of San Francisco, California.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) is the full-service fire department of San Diego, California. It was established on August 5, 1889. The department responds to over 183,000 calls per year. It covers 343 square miles of service area, including 17 miles of coastline. It is the second-largest municipal fire department in California, after the Los Angeles Fire Department.
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.
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.
One-alarm fires, two-alarm fires, three-alarm fires, etc., are categories classifying the seriousness of fires, commonly used in the United States and in Canada, particularly indicating the level of response by local authorities. The term multiple-alarm is a quick way of indicating that a fire is severe and is difficult to contain. This system of classification is used by both fire departments and news agencies.
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 Phoenix Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The department responded to 186,594 calls during 2014–2015, with 88% being for emergency medical services. The Phoenix Fire Department currently protects 1.5 million residents spread across an area of 520 square miles (1,300 km2).
The Vancouver Fire Department (VFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Vancouver and, by contract to Clark County Fire District 5, in Washington, United States. The VFD's response area is 89.2 square miles (231 km2) with a population of over 297,400. 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.
The San Luis Obispo City Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency response services for the city of San Luis Obispo, California and protects a population of approximately 47,000 people; however that number increases to over 100,000 during weekdays. In addition to the city, the department is also responsible for California Polytechnic State University which adds at approximately 24,000 people to the responsible population. San Luis Obispo also neighbors the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant and provides mutual aid to the plant during emergencies.
Capital City Fire/Rescue (CCFR) provides fire suppression and emergency medical services to the city of Juneau, Alaska, United States.
The Scranton Fire Department provides fire protection, rescue services, hazardous materials mitigation, to the City of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The department used volunteer fire companies throughout its history and was established as a career fire department on May 4, 1901. The city maintained a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters from 1901 to 1907 when a full time department was established. The Scranton Fire Department remains a full-time all career department today, with a total of about 142 professional firefighters and fire officers protecting the City of Scranton.
