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.
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 Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Honolulu. Founded on December 27, 1850, by Kamehameha III and Alexander Cartwright, the Honolulu Fire Department serves and protects the entire island of O'ahu, covering over 600 square miles (1,600 km2) of territory, home to more than 880,000 residents and over 4 million annual visitors.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through contracting, including the city of La Habra which is located in Orange County and is the first city outside of Los Angeles County to contract with LACoFD.
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.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is a uniformed organisation in Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs that provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and coordinates national civil defence programme.
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.
The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) is a Danish governmental agency under the Ministry of Defence. Its principal task is to manage an operational part who work out of six Emergency Management Centres, and administrative and legalizing part, who supervises the national and municipal rescue preparedness and advises the authorities on matters of preparedness. DEMA works in closely structured co-operation with the EU, UN and several neighbouring countries.
The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia, commonly known as Bomba, is a federal agency of Malaysia responsible for firefighting and technical rescue. Bomba is a Malay word derived from the Portuguese bombeiros which means 'firefighters'.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue is an ISO Class 1 department with 52 stations and one of the largest fire departments in the State of Florida. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue provides fire protection, Advanced Life Support, emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials' mitigation, aircraft rescue/firefighting, fire investigation, and 911 dispatching for unincorporated parts of Palm Beach County, Florida as well as 19 cities under contract.
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.
Bunker gear is the personal protective equipment (PPE) used by firefighters. The term is derived from the fact that the trousers and boots are traditionally kept by the firefighters bunk at the fire station to be readily available for use.
Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer, is the highest rank in the fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of the local authority fire services. There is also a chief fire officer responsible for the Ministry of Defence Fire Services, which includes the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and the RAF Fire Service. Some UK airport fire services also designate their seniors officers as CFOs, though these officers rarely wear the same rank insignia as a local authority chief fire officer.
As firefighting has a rich history throughout the world, traditions in this profession vary widely from country to country.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to firefighting:
The Israel Fire and Rescue Services is the national Israeli fire and rescue organization. The organisation also provides rescue services from terror attacks, car accident and dangerous substance spillages, along with Magen David Adom, the National EMS. They are also involved in public education and awareness campaigns. The service is accessed by calling 102 from any phone. As of 2022, the commissioner of the services is Eyal Casspi.
Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masahito Soda. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from September 1995 to June 1999, with its chapters collected in 20 tankōbon volumes.
Fire museums, also known as firefighting museums are prevalent throughout the world.
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.
