Arlington County Fire Department

The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) provides fire, emergency medical, and allied public safety services for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church in Virginia, USA. It is highly regarded within the profession as an innovator and leader in enhancing the industry.[1] Among its many firsts are the hiring of the first female career firefighter in the world in 1974[2] and partnering with the United States Public Health Service to develop America's first Metropolitan Medical Strike Team to respond to the consequences of a chemical, biological or radiological terrorist attack.[3]

Arlington County Fire Department

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Arlington
Agency overview
Established	1940
Employees	327 (uniformed & civilian)
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	David Povlitz
EMS level	ALS
IAFF	2800
Facilities and equipment
Battalions	2
Stations	10
Engines	9
Trucks	2
Platforms	1
Rescues	2
Ambulances	8
HAZMAT	1
Website
Official website
IAFF website

The ACFD operates ten stations and is a signatory to an automatic regional response plan with neighboring Fairfax County as well as the city of Alexandria, and participates in a regional mutual aid pact with the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s.[4] Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, also in Arlington County, fields a fire department as part of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Fire and Rescue Department and works closely with the county's fire service. The 300-plus employees of the Fire Department provide services through a combination of education, prevention and effective response to fire, medical and environmental emergencies.

The Arlington County Fire Department holds a Class 2 Rating from the Insurance Services Organization, the second-highest rating given to a Virginia fire department, and one of only three such ratings awarded in the state. This rating helps the local community by bringing lower insurance rates to homeowners and businesses.[1]

Staffing

Arlington County firefighters often train with the 911th Engineer Company.

Arlington County Fire Department is a career fire department, with over 380 sworn career firefighters. All units are staffed 24 hours a day by career firefighter/EMTs who are divided into three platoons.[1] Engine Companies, Rescue Companies and Truck Companies/Tower companies in Arlington are typically staffed by three firefighter/EMTs and one firefighter/paramedic, and ALS transport units are staffed with one firefighter/EMT and one firefighter/paramedic. Arlington operates nine engine companies, three truck companies, two rescue companies and eight medic units.[1] Additional medic units can be placed in service as necessary. The county is divided into two divisions, the North (112) and the South (111), with one Battalion Chief, an Advanced Paramedic Officer, an Assistant Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshals in each division.[1]

Standard Units and Station Assignments

Station	Location	Staffing	Battalion	Engine	Truck	Rescue	Medic	Command Staff	EMS Supervisor	Duty Fire Marshal	Specialty Units
1	Glebe Road	7	South Battalion	E101	-	-	M101	BC111	ALS113	-	HM101
2	Ballston	7	South Battalion	E102	-	-	M102	-	EM112	-	MCSU100 MAB100 CU100
3	Cherrydale	9	North Battalion	E103	-	R103	-	BC112	-	-	BUs
4	Clarendon	10/12	North Battalion	E104	TW104	-	M104 M104B*	CA114	-	-	-
5	Jefferson District	11	South Battalion	E105	T105	-	M105	-	-	FM115	SW100
6	Falls Church	10	North Battalion	E106	T106	-	M106	-	-	FM113	-
7	Fairlington	0	South Battalion	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Hall's Hill	5/7	North Battalion	E108	-	-	M108*	-	-	-	-
9	Nauck	10	South Battalion	E109	-	R109	M109	-	EM111	-	-
10	Rosslyn	6	North Battalion	E110	-	-	M110	-	-	-	-

* - Indicates part-time units, often staffed during peak times only.

Note: Fire Station 7 was permanently closed, effective Oct 9th, 2019.

CAD Identifier	Description
E	Advanced Life Support Engine Company
T	Truck Company
TW	Tower Company
R	Rescue Units
M	Advanced Life Support Medic Unit
BC	Battalion Chief Unit
CA	Command Aide Unit
FM	Duty Fire Marshal
EM	Advanced Life Support EMS Supervisor
ALS	Advance Practice Provider (used for COVID-19 Diversion Responses)
HM	HazMat
MCSU	Medical Care Support Unit
MAB	Medical Ambulance Bus
CU	Command Unit
BU	Bomb Squad Unit
SW	Swift Water Rescue
LA	Light and Air
TRT	Technical Rescue Trailer
UT	Utility

Note: Due to construction of Fire Station 10, the following units are relocated:

Affected Station	Unit	Relocated Station	Reason
Station 10	E110	(temporary) Station 10	New station construction
	M110
	TRT110	Station 1

Other Fire Departments in the Arlington County System

Arlington County Fire Department is the primary all-hazards response agency for Arlington County, Virginia. In addition to ACFD, other fire departments operate and provide emergency and support services to Arlington County.

Station	Location	Staffing	Department	Units Operated
3	Cherrydale	Volunteer	Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department	LA103, UT103
6	Falls Church	Volunteer	Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department	LA106, UT106, UT106B, A102, A106
61	Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall	Career	Fort Myer Fire & Emergency Services	E161, E161B, TW161, BC161, UT161

Prior to 1950, independent volunteer fire companies protected Arlington County.[5] As the demand for services for fire and EMS grew, the need for full-time paid staff was acknowledged by the County. Staff was hired, first to augment the volunteers, then finally to provide the full range of services required in a modern, urban, fire department. The volunteer members ride as supplemental staffing on apparatus and do not count as minimum staffing. The Arlington County Fire Department uses the volunteer apparatus for providing support services, such as special event stand-bys, storm and natural disaster staffing, and scene lighting, air replenishment and canteen services for long duration incidents.[6]

Bomb Squad

The ACFD Bomb containment chamber.

The Arlington County bomb squad is jointly operated by the ACFD and the Arlington County Police Department. While the bomb disposal rigs are staffed by the fire department, and stored at Fire Station 3, the Bomb Squad works with the ACPD explosive canine teams on explosive related incidents.[7] The squad is classified as a Type 2 squad on FEMA's three-level classification system.[8] This classification denotes that the bomb squad has the following equipment available:[9]

• 2 or more response teams
• Full coverage bomb suits
• Portable x-ray devices
• Employ explosive tools to conduct specific or general disruption
• Demolition Kit
• PPE for chemical and biological devices
• A Bomb disposal robot capable of handling non-vehicle IEDs
• Explosives reference library

September 11^th and the Pentagon

Main articles: American Airlines Flight 77 and September 11 attacks

Arlington Engine 105 is seen here operating at the Pentagon shortly after the crash of Flight 77.

The Arlington County Fire Department was the lead agency in the response to the Pentagon attack.[10] ACFD Assistant Chief James Schwartz implemented an incident command system (ICS) to coordinate response efforts among multiple agencies.[11][12] It took about an hour for the ICS structure to become fully operational.[13] Firefighters from Fort Myer and Reagan National Airport arrived within minutes.[14][15]

As a result of the attack on the Pentagon, additional career firefighters were hired, bringing the total to 305 by 2005. Minimum staffing on the county's engine companies was also increased to four firefighters from three in the months after the attack. The county trained CERT Teams - Community Emergency Response Teams - in cooperation with the federal Department of Homeland Security as a part of its stepped up disaster preparedness program.[16]

Gallery

• 
  Bomb squad command vehicle.
• 
  Bomb disposal truck.
• 
  Bomb disposal truck.

See also

• Arlington County, Virginia
• American Airlines Flight 77
• 911th Engineer Company - Formerly the Military District of Washington Engineer Company, specializes in urban search and rescue and responded to the Pentagon following the attack on the Pentagon.

External links

• Arlington County Fire Department
• Arlington County Fire and Rescue Association (Volunteer Organizations)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/125970047424896/

References

1. "About the Arlington County Fire Department". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
2. Terese M. Floren. "History of Women in Firefighting". International Association of Women in Fire & Emergency Services. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
3. Schmitt, Mark (3 October 2008). "The Metropolitan Medical Response System". Firehouse. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
4. "Mutual Response Agreement". March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
5. Jones, Mark (9 September 2014). "Arlington's Bravest: The Arlington County Fire Department". WETA. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
6. Holt-Springston, Kathy. "History". Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
7. Geraci, Brian (6 June 2013). "County Board Agenda Item Meeting of July 13, 2013". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
8. Sheridan, Mary Beth (July 13, 2007). "Bomb Squads Are Left Lacking". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
9. "Typed Resource Definitions - Law Enforcement and Security Resources" (PDF). FEMA.gov. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency. July 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
10. "James Schwartz - Fire Chief". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
11. Goldberg et al., p. 72.
12. Eversburg, Rudy (1 November 2002). "The Pentagon Attack On 9-11: Arlington County (Va) Fire Department Response". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
13. Goldberg et al., p. 77.
14. Goldberg et al., p. 78.
15. "Arlington, Virginia After-Action Report" (PDF). Arlington County Fire Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
16. "Arlington community-emergency-response team graduates new classes". InsideNoVa.com. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2016.