Fire Stations

Fire stations support the needs of fire departments by housing and servicing fire apparatus and equipment and serving as a meeting place for firefighters when not on duty. Stations may include living quarters for firefighter crews, training facilities and other administrative and community outreach activities. In some large cities, fire stations are named based on the neighborhood or street they serve and often assigned a number or letter for ease of identification by citizens.

A fire station may be staffed by paid or volunteer firefighters who are members of a local fire company, called a fire department or fire brigade. The fire company is organized into platoons, with each of the company’s platoons led by a fire officer of the rank of captain or lieutenant. Usually, each fire company has an “A,” “B” or “C” designation to indicate which platoon is on duty at any given time.

Typically, fire stations house two or more engines and/or ladder trucks, as well as a firefighter’s pole (used for climbing on and off the top of a ladder) and a fire hose storage system. They also contain firefighter tools and supplies, a vehicle maintenance facility, and an administrative area with an office for the fire chief and fire marshal.

Most fire stations are situated on a busy street, and many have a sign posted with their name and/or call number for easy reference for firefighters when they arrive at the scene of an emergency. Some have special features such as a smoke-proof stairwell that allows firefighters to evacuate a building without being exposed to the smoke or fumes.

In some areas, firefighters wear uniforms with a specific color or pattern that easily distinguishes them from other personnel at an incident site, for example red, blue or green. This uniformity is a significant part of the professionalism required by fire services and an important factor in reducing firefighter injuries at scenes of emergency incidents.

Class A fire: any type of fire involving wood or paper. Class B fire: any other type of fire excluding class A. Class C fire: any type of fire involving cooking oils. Class F fire: any other type of fire.

Hazardous materials: any material that could become dangerous upon exposure to heat or a chemical chain reaction. Firefighters use a model called the fire tetrahedron to understand the components of igniting and extinguishing fires, which are fuel, oxygen and heat.

Depending on the size and complexity of an incident, a fire company or entire fire department may be called in to respond. The incident commander at a fire scene typically assigns resources from other locations to assist, such as by calling for additional fire companies or a hazmat unit. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as mutual aid and can be enhanced by an agreement that allows fire departments in the same area to send resources on request without prior approval from a chief officer. See also fire alarm control panel and firehouse.