Organized ??

[Vogls]

Hi.

I´m from germany and i´m interested in how US- firedepartments are organized.
how many Fireman are in a department what kind of trucks do you have ?? Is there a
Truck-Standart ??

Greetings from Germany !
Sebastian Vogl

[Waterboy620]

We have a population of 50,000. We have three stations and 50 firemen.

Station one, 7 men:
1 Engine (3 to 4 man)
1 MICU
1 Brush fire truck
1 Reserve engine
1 Reserve MICU

Station two, 5 men:
1 Engine
1 MICU
1 Water tender
1 Brush fire truck

Station three, 6 men:
1 Quint (75 foot)
1 MICU
1 Water tender

1 Chief
1 Assistant Chief
1 EMS/Training chief
1 Fire marshal
2 Fire investigtors
1 Disaster managment dude
3 Secretaries

We are adding a fourth station, a truck company and bat chiefs within the very near future

We run 24 on and 48 off

As far as truck company assignments, they are not set in stone. I think New York runs a five man truck company
1 Captain
1 Driver
1 Ventilation guy
1 Water can man
1 Door kicker

Hope this helps

[berger3447]

Man, there are so many different ways departments are organized it's unreal. Where I work, we have a population of about 60,000. We have 4 stations with a pumper at each (3 man crews). We also have a platform ladder truck at one, also with a three man crew. Each truck has a Lieutenant, a driver, an a firefighter. Over these is a Battalion Chief. All of these work 24 hours on and 48 off. The administration (Chief, 3 deputy chiefs) works Monday-Friday from 8-5. This is about what you would expect from a department this size. We also have a Hazmat truck, a high-angle rescue truck, and a booster truck for grassfires that aren't manned, but we'll drop a man off a pumper to respond when needed.
Where I live, ten miles away, it's totally different. It's a volunteer fire department. A larger area, but with about the same population, we have 7 stations. Among these 7 stations, we have 8 pumpers, 1 heavy rescue truck, a tanker, 3 boosters, 2 ladder trucks, an equipment truck, a rehab truck, a utility truck, and 4 chief's vehicles. We employ a 5 man crew during business hours when our volunteer levels are low, otherwise it's all volunteer. Of course, training is required and many of the volunteers have extensive experience with fire departments, but that's how it works. So there's that much difference in just 10 miles, you can imagine the variations you will find nationally...

[AC1503]

Hey Waterboy; the German Fire Fighter may not know what a MICU is. I know that I don't. Just what is it?

[Waterboy620]

Sorry, it stands for Mobile Intensive Care Unit....ambulance.