Detroit Fire Department
Contents
Introduction
The Detroit Fire Department operates 48 fire companies out of 34 fire stations located throughout the city, with a total sworn personnel complement of 830 firefighters in all ranks. It is headquartered at the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters on Third Street, which also houses police, EMS, and additional services.
The Detroit Fire Department responds to approximately 165,000 emergency calls annually, with over 80% being medical emergencies and approximately 9,000 working structural fires.
Fire Activity and Investigation
The city of Detroit has to cope with a large number of fires. The amount of vacant buildings throughout the city, combined with a dire economic situation, resulted in numerous fires on a daily basis. About 85% of the fires that occur daily in Detroit occur in vacant homes and buildings. In 2011 alone, the DFD responded to over 9,000 working structural fires.
Numbers of fires per year declined subsequently, with 4,600 structure fires in 2014 and 3,700 in 2015. On average, Detroit firefighters attended to 11 to 16 fires per day in 2015.
A large number of these fires are believed to be "incendiary" (or arson), far above the national average of about 7.8%. In the early 2010s, there were no accurate statistics for determining the arson rate in Detroit due to the fact that only a fraction of the fires could be investigated by the limited resources of the DFD Arson Unit. Only fire scenes which have been investigated can be ruled as incendiary or arson fires. Those fires which have not been investigated must be classified as "undetermined" unless an investigation is completed.
It should be noted that an "Incendiary Fire" is a technical definition for "a fire that is deliberately set with the intent to cause a fire to occur in an area where the fire should not be". "Arson" is and a statutory definition for a criminal offense. There are occasions where a fire may be "incendiary", but not meet the threshold of "arson".
Operations
The Detroit Fire Department is divided into 10 divisions of operations: Administration, Apparatus, Communications, Community Relations, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Firefighting/Fire Suppression, Fire Marshal, Medical, Research and Development, and Training Academy.
Emergency Medical Services
The Detroit Fire Department operates a separate EMS Division. In September 2013, AED devices were put in service on the fire apparatuses as a first step into performing life support to citizens as first responders. As of 2015, Detroit firefighters are trained medical first responders and have the ability to handle patient care until EMS arrives.
The EMS division operates with limited manpower. As a result, many calls are handled by DFD until a unit is available. The availability of EMS units is often compromised due to the amount of calls in a city which has a lot of violence, as well as the breaking down of the EMS rigs due to age, mileage, and lack of proper maintenance.
Thanks to Mayor Bing's collaboration with the business community, Roger Penske sponsored 23 new ambulances for the department, which were put into service in the summer of 2013. Many of these, however, soon developed defects. More new ambulances were purchased throughout the following years.
Fire Station Locations
As of March 2017, there are a total of 34 fire stations in the city of Detroit, not including the Fire Headquarters. There are 27 engine companies, 15 ladder companies (including 3 platforms), 6 squad companies, 22 Medic Ambulances, and several specialized units. These fire stations and companies are organized into 8 battalions, each headed by one Battalion Chief per shift.
Organization
Rank Structure
Below is the rank structure of the Detroit Fire Department.
• Executive Fire Commissioner • First Deputy Commissioner • Second Deputy Commissioner • Chief of Department • Deputy Chief • Senior Chief • Battalion Chief • Captain (Capt.) • Senior Lieutenant (Lt.) • Lieutenant (Lt.) • Sergeant (Sgt.) • Fire Engine Operator (FEO.) • Firefighter Driver (FFD.) • Senior Firefighter (SFF.) • Firefighter (FF.) • Trial Firefighter (TFF.)
