Tampa Fire Department

InfoboxFireDepartment
name = Tampa Fire Department

motto =
established = 1884
staffing = Career
strength = 566 uniformed
62 non-sworn support
stations = 22
engines =
trucks =
squads =
rescues =
bulldozers =
airplanes =
helicopters =
fireboats =
EMSunits =
FirstResponderBLSorALS = ALS
chief = Dennis W. Jones
commissioner = The Tampa Fire Department (TFD) or Tampa Fire Rescue is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Tampa.

History

Tampa's first organized volunteer fire department was founded in 1884 with a force of only seven to serve the city. On May 10, 1895, the city council passed a resolution authorizing the city's first professional, paid fire department. With A. J. Harris presiding as fire chief, there were 22 fire fighters in five stations at an annual budget of $18,000. On the same day, Hand operated pumpers, fire hydrants, and steam engines were introduced for pumping water to firefighter's hoses.

The annexations of Drew Park, Sulphur Springs, Palma Ceia, and Ballast Point in 1954 doubled the size of the department, thus four stations were acquired and most volunteer fire fighters were hired. [ [http://www.newmillenniumfire.com/tfdhs2.html New Millennium Fire - Tampa fire Department History (page 2) ] ] Paramedic-manned station wagons were introduced in July 1973. [ [http://www.newmillenniumfire.com/tfdhs2.html New Millennium Fire - Tampa fire Department History (page 2) ] ]

Tampa Fire-Rescue operates on 24 hour staffing, in which firefighters are on duty for 24 hours (7am to 7am) and are off duty for 48 hours. As such, there are three on duty shifts, dubbed either A, B, or C. Of the active 21 fire stations, a majority house both a rescue unit (ALS ambulance) and an engine company (many are ALS equipped). Four of the stations house a truck company (aerial ladder truck or tiller truck) in addition to the engine. In addition to these standard vehicles, several stations contain auxillary units such as boats, brush trucks, vent trucks, and hazardous incident units. The city requires that all firefighters hold at the minimum an EMT and a Florida Firefighter Compliance certificate. In addition, within two years of employment, all firefighters are required to undergo paramedic certification. This is largely due in part to the significant number of EMS related alarms the department responds to. [ [http://www.tampagov.net/dept_fire_rescue/index.asp] ] Station #2 provides fire protection to Tampa International Airport exclusively with a staffing of highly trained firefighters and paramedics. This station houses a fleet of Oshkosh Aircraft Rescue Firefighting (ARFF) trucks, which are able to douse aircraft emergencies with water and foam retardant. Station #2's ARFF6 unit is specifically designed to transport paramedics to the terminals and other locations on the airport campus whenever a traveler is injured or in a medical crisis. Because ARFF6 must be on the airport campus constantly, it does not have means to transport patients to nearby hospitals. [ [http://www.tampagov.net/dept_fire_rescue/about_us/operations_divison/Airport_%20Rescue_and_Firefighting.asp] ]

Fire Station Branches

The city of Tampa is served by 22 fire stations, in which 21 are fully operational. The following is the station number and the community in which it serves. [ [http://www.tampafirefighters.com/smkdetect_prog.htm Tampa Fire Fighters Local 754 ] ] [ [http://www.tampagov.net/appl_neighborhoods/default.aspx?cscRedirectID=634 Find a Neighborhood ] ]

# serving Downtown Tampa
# serving Tampa International Airport
# serving Hyde Park and surrounding areas
# serving Ybor City
# serving Robles Park South Seminole Heights and portion of Southeast Seminole Heights
# serving Palmetto Beach
# serving Seminole Heights
# serving West Tampa, Rocky Point, the Howard Frankland Bridge, the Courtney Campbell Causeway and surrounding areas
# serving Northeast Macfarlane
# serving East Tampa
# serving Sulphur Springs and surrounding areas
# serving Northwest Tampa
# serving Terrace Park, Temple Crest, North Tampa, Busch Gardens and U.S.F.
# serving Palma Ceia and surrounding areas
# serving Gandy-Sun Bay South
# serving Gary and Grant Park
# serving Davis Islands
# serving Live Oaks Square, Woodland Terrace, and River Grove
# serving Port Tampa/Interbay area.
# serving New Tampa region and Interstate 275 and Interstate 75 mutual aid.
# serving New Tampa region and Interstate 275 and Interstate 75 mutual aid.
# serving New Tampa beginning in 2010 (Station property currently being secured)

References

External links

* [http://www.tampagov.net/dept_fire_rescue/information_resources/Tampa_fire_rescue_history.asp Tampa Fire Department History Page]

* [http://www.newmillenniumfire.com/tfdhis.html New Millennium Fire - TFD History]

* [http://www.firedepartments.net/Florida/Tampa/TampaFireRescue.html Tampa Fire Rescue Facts]

* [http://www.tampagov.net/dept_fire_rescue/ Tampa Fire Department Home Page]