Worcester, Massachusetts - Fire Department

Fire Department

The Worcester Fire Department (WFD) employs 406 full-time firefighters to protect the city. The WFD operates out of ten fire stations in two divisions, located throughout the city. The WFD operates a fire apparatus fleet of thirteen engines, seven ladders, one rescue, one special operations unit, one state haz-mat unit, one state field communications unit, one scuba dive rescue unit, one air unit and one fireboat, under the direction of two district chiefs and one deputy chief.

The Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire occurred the night of December 3, 1999, at 6:13 pm. Six Worcester firefighters perished while looking for two homeless victims thought to be trapped in the blaze. The fire went to five alarms and took six days to bring under control. The six firefighters that lost their lives are known as the Worcester 6.

The WFD responded to a total of 28,891 incidents (1,384 fire and 27,507 non-fire) during 2011. In 2007, the fire department received a Class 2 rating from ISO.

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Famous quotes related to fire department:

    In England if something goes wrong—say, if one finds a skunk in the garden—he writes to the family solicitor, who proceeds to take the proper measures; whereas in America, you telephone the fire department. Each satisfies a characteristic need; in the English, love of order and legalistic procedure; and here in America, what you like is something vivid, and red, and swift.
    Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)