Fire Stations

A fire station (also called a fire hall, fireman’s hall or engine house) is a structure for storing and servicing firefighting vehicles and related equipment. It usually also has living and working space for firefighters and firefighting staff. Fire stations are located in cities, towns, and rural areas of the United States and Canada. In some countries, they may also be known as a fire company or fire brigade.

Most fire departments have multiple fire stations in close proximity to each other, enabling rapid response to emergencies within their jurisdiction. The Cloquet Area Fire District of northern Minnesota, for example, has five fire stations that serve 5 communities and an unincorporated area in two counties. Each station has several fire trucks in very close proximity of each other and is staffed by full-time career firefighters.

Each fire department is made up of a series of firehouses or fire houses, a headquarters building and various support units that assist with operations. In the United States, each firehouse is usually named after the primary fire company and apparatus it houses, such as “Engine 7/Ladder 1” or “Battalion 1.” In larger cities, some fire stations are also named based on the settlement, neighborhood or street where they are located. In other cases, a fire station is named based on its function, such as “Mask Service Unit,” “Support Vehicle” or “Aerial Rescue Unit.”

In the city of New York, each firehouse houses one of 218 fire companies, which operate a single type of fire apparatus and are staffed by four shifts of firefighters and company officers. In addition to fires, the FDNY responds to medical emergencies, hazardous materials incidents, water supply problems, high-angle or trench rescues, subway accidents, transit incidents and other emergencies.

Firefighters work four- or six-hour tours and have three days off. During their shifts, they may receive calls from dispatchers via radio or by telephone. These calls can include the location of the emergency, the nature of the incident, the status of the fire or rescue operation, and the number of firefighters needed to respond to an incident.

Each FDNY firehouse is equipped with a teleprinter, which reads signals received from the city’s fire alarm boxes and telephone system. It also reads information printed on fire tickets — including the size of a fire’s footprint, number of apartment units per floor, standpipe conditions, and anything else the supervising dispatcher or FDNY staff chief deems important to know.

A fire station may contain many different types of vehicles and equipment, depending on the needs of the surrounding community. For example, a small town may require fewer firefighting trucks than a large city, and the type of firefighting vehicles available in each is usually dictated by local laws. In some communities, fire departments also operate ambulances to transport injured people and fire victims. In the United States, fire departments often also run police departments, which are responsible for traffic law enforcement and other civil services.