Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Jacksonville, Florida, as well as all unincorporated areas of Duval County.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Florida
City	Jacksonville
Agency overview[1]
Established	April 20, 1886 (1886-04-20)
Annual calls	151,237 (2018)
Employees	1470 (2019)
Annual budget	$234 million (2019)
Fire chief	Keith Powers
EMS level	ALS
IAFF	122
Facilities and equipment[2][3]
Stations	62
Engines	57
Trucks	14
Rescues	57
HAZMAT	2
USAR	12
Airport crash	5
Website
Official website
IAFF website

According to a list of the thirty largest fire departments in the United States, based on staff size, JFRD is number eighteen.[4]

On January 19, 2016, the Jacksonville Fire Rescue earned the highest rating given by the I.S.O. of 1. After 2 years of planning, moving stations, equipment, and adding a fire station to the Bartram community, the department has finally earned top honors. It is the biggest city in the United States to do so and is 1 of 19 in Florida and 1 of only 140 in the United States to hold such a prestigious rating.

The 2012 National Fire Department Census revealed that Florida has four hundred and seventy-seven registered fire departments.[5] Duval County has the fifth largest fire department in the state based on the number of fire stations.[6] JFRD is among the largest departments in the state and the nation. The department is made up of six division, fifty-eight fire and rescue locations, a professional career force of roughly thirteen-hundred diverse individuals, from all walks of life, and a number of teams, specially trained to handle any type of emergency call.[7][8][9] All of which, provide around the clock emergency response services to an eight hundred and forty square mile territory within the City of Jacksonville and the unincorporated areas of Duval County.[8]

History

An antique hand pumper on display at the Jacksonville Fire Museum

The current Fire and Rescue headquarters is housed in the former Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Jacksonville Branch

In Jacksonville's early days, citizens responded to fires by forming formed bucket brigades. In 1852, Jacksonville upgraded its firefighting apparatus with the acquisition of a hand pumper. The wheeled pumper had large handles on each side, which were pumped up and down in a seesaw manner to create hydraulic pressure. On April 5, 1854, the hand pumper was put to the test when a spark from the paddle steamer Florida ignited a fire at the docks along Bay Street between Ocean and Newnan. The pumper proved no match for the conflagration, which destroyed the pumper along with 70 buildings, devastating Jacksonville’s business district.[10]

The city's first organized firefighting force was formed on January 10, 1868, when a group of volunteers created the Friendship Hook and Ladder Company. Several other volunteer companies were formed by 1870, and together they came to be known as the Jacksonville Volunteer Fire Department.[10]

In 1876, a group of 22 African Americans organized the Duval Hose Company. Their station was located near the intersection of Pine and Ashley Streets. The Duval Hose Company soon became one of the most active volunteer companies in Jacksonville.[10]

On December 16, 1885, an African American named Henry Bradley, was killed when a flaming wall collapsed onto him. Bradley thus became the first Jacksonville firefighter to die in the line of duty. The public outcry about Bradley's death, coupled with rising insurance rates due to Jacksonville’s lack of a professional fire department, led to calls for change. Several fire insurance companies serving Jacksonville threatened to withdraw their coverage. Fire insurance rates went up by 25%, which threatened to halt the city’s development.[10]

On April 20, 1886, the Jacksonville City Council passed an ordinance creating a professional fire department. Peter Jones, former mayor of Jacksonville, was elected as the city’s first fire chief. He was provided 17 men to staff 3 stations to protect the city area of approximately 39 square miles. Jones remained fire chief through the Great Fire of 1901.

Divisions

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department has five divisions, all of which play an integral role in providing around the clock emergency response to the City of Jacksonville. Each one oversees specific tasks, but come together to form JFRD.[11]

Discrimination controversy

In 1971, the JFRD became subject of a consent decree as part of a class action lawsuit, Coffey v. Braddy. The lawsuit was filed due to claims of discrimination against African-American applicants to the department. At the time of the suit, there were only two black firefighters in a department of almost 700.[12] In 1984, the decree was modified to change hiring process at the JFRD. According to the decree, the department was required to hire a one-to-one ratio of black and white firefighters until the percentage of black firefighters equaled the percentage of blacks in the local population.[13] This hiring restriction was fulfilled in 1992.[14]

On August 8, 2006, the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission released a report after an investigation into a complaint of a racially hostile work environment. The complaint was filed in February 2006 after two black firefighters in the department arrived for duty and found nooses placed in their lockers.[15] The report found that, while operational performance was at a high standard, the off-duty behaviors of members of the department were a concern.

Operations

Divisions

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department has five divisions, all of which play an integral role in providing around the clock emergency response to the City of Jacksonville. Each one oversees specific tasks, but come together to form JFRD.[11]

Stations and apparatus[16][17]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Tower Ladder Company	EMS Rescue Unit	Other units
1	611 Liberty St	Engine 1	Ladder 1	Rescue 1	Fire 1 Safety 1
2[18]	355 N Main St	Engine 2		Rescue 2
4	639 W Duval St		Ladder 4	Rescue 4	Squad 4
5	2433 Forest St	Engine 5		Rescue 5	Air 5 USAR Florida Task Force 5 Medical Support Unit 1
7	2436 Division St	Engine 7	Ladder 7	Rescue 7	Hazmat 7
9	4560 N Main St
10	1055 S McDuff Ave	Engine 10	Ladder 10
11	2732 Talleyrand Ave
12	3408 Atlantic Blvd				Squad 12
13	1411 Atlantic Blvd	Engine 13
14	4242 Herschel St				Squad 14
15	6403 N Pearl St
16	2400 Barnstormer Rd
17	710 Huron St
18	3504 Myrtle Ave
19	1072 Rogero Rd
20	1443 Huffingham Ln
21	6272 Powers Avenue	Engine 21	Ladder 21	Rescue 21	Hazmat 21
22	2032 Jammes Rd
23	5323 Ortega Blvd
24	9247 Lem Turner Rd
25	5423 Manor Dr
26	6671 Sandymac Rd
27	6241 Ft Caroline Rd	Engine 27		Rescue 27
28	9200 Hogan Rd
29	13739 McCormick Rd
30	9735 1st Federal Dr	Engine 30	Ladder 30	Rescue 30	Fire 10
31	5527 Hillman Dr
32	8140 Lenox Ave
33	10800 New Kings Rd
34	11248 Ross Blvd
35	12851 N Main St
36	2926 Lippia Road	CELL BLOCK
37	10151 Busch Dr N
38	469 Trout River Dr				Marine 38
39	1408 Gator Bowl Blvd				Marine 39
40	9350 Heckscher Dr				Marine 40
41	985 Gavagan Rd
42	2948 Delor Dr
43	18255 Pennsylvania Ave
44	8275 Western Way
45	15725 Sawpit Rd
46	610 Oliver St W
48	9687 Blount Island Dr
49	14880 Yellow Bluff Rd
50	3275 Tamaya Blvd
51	10014 Old St Augustine Rd
52	6130 Collins Rd
53	4220 Jones Rd
54	11026 Philips Hwy
55	850 Seminole Rd.	Engine 55		Rescue 55
56[19]	13364 Aerospace Way	Engine 56			Crash 4, 5, 14, 15 CAV 56
57	11785 W Beaver St
58	251 Joeandy Rd.	Engine 58		Rescue 58	Fire 2
59	14097 W.M. Davis Parkway	Engine 59		Rescue 59
60	2500 South Beach Parkway
61	7965 Old Middleburg Road South	Engine 61
62	14279 Bartram Park Blvd
71	325 2nd Ave S
73	5845 Aviation Avenue

References

1. "Fast Facts". City of Jacksonville. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
2. "Operations Division". City of Jacksonville. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
3. "On Scene Newsletter". City of Jacksonville. August 2014. p. 16. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
4. "Largest Fire Departments in the US". Fire Department. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
5. "National Fire Department Census Quick Facts". U.S. Fire Administration. January 2012. Archived from the original (Webpage) on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
6. "Florida Fire Departments". Fire Departments. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
7. "JFRD: Our Divisions". COJ.net. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
8. "JFRD Fast Facts". City of Jacksonville.
9. Hinson, Don. "Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department". Fire Departments. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
10. "History of JFRD". Jacksonville Fire Museum. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
11. "Our Divisions". COJ.net. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
12. "Coffey et al v. Braddy et al - Document 62". Retrieved June 19, 2014.
13. Doolittle, Kirsten (February 14, 2013). "Complaint - NAACP v. City of Jacksonville" (PDF). Law Office of Kirsten Doolittle, P.A. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
14. "City of Jacksonville, Florida Fire Department Accused of Racially Discriminatory Employment Practices in New Civil Rights Lawsuit". Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. February 14, 2013. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
15. Jacksonville Human Rights Commission (August 8, 2006). "Report to the Mayor on the Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department" (pdf). Retrieved June 19, 2014.
16. "My JFRD - Fire Stations".
17. "The Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters". jfrd.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
18. "Springfield Deuce". springfielddeuce.tripod.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
19. "Jacksonville International Airport". www.flyjacksonville.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.

External links