Louisville Division of Fire

The Louisville Division of Fire, commonly known as the Louisville Fire Department or Louisville Fire & Rescue (abbreviated LFD or LFR), is the sole fire suppression agency for the city of Louisville, Kentucky and is one of nineteen fire departments within the Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky metropolitan area. The Louisville Division of Fire is the largest fire department in Kentucky. The Louisville Division of Fire responded to 31,836 incidents in 2013. The current Chief of Department is Gregory Frederick.

Not to be confused with Jefferson County Fire Service.

Louisville Division of Fire

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
City	Louisville
Agency overview[1][2]
Established	June 1, 1858 (1858-06-01)
Annual calls	42,790 (2018)
Employees	497 (2017)
Annual budget	$56,946,400 (FY 2018)
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Gregory W. Frederick
EMS level	BLS
IAFF	345
Facilities and equipment[1]
Battalions	4
Stations	21
Engines	18
Trucks	5
Platforms	1
Quints	3
Rescues	2
HAZMAT	3
USAR	2
Airport crash	1
Wildland	1
Fireboats	2
Light and air	1
Website
Official website
IAFF website

History

The Louisville Fire Department is the third oldest all-paid staff fire department in the nation. The first fire brigades established in Louisville were in 1780, two years after the city's creation. The first firehouses in Louisville were volunteer fire departments scattered throughout the city until June 1, 1858, when the city took control and replaced the hand engines with five steam engines and volunteers with paid staff. There were initially three fire stations, 65 full-time firefighters, and 23 horses.

Operations

The Louisville Division of Fire currently operates out of 21 fire stations, located throughout the city in 4 battalions. Each battalion is commanded by a battalion chief. The 4 battalions are under the command of a citywide tour commander each shift. The Louisville Division of Fire operates 18 engine companies, 8 truck companies (including 3 quints), 2 rescue companies, 3 HazMat units, 3 fireboats, 1 ventilation unit, 3 utility mule ATVs, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units.

Rescue Company 2 (housed with, and staffed by, the crews of Engine 2 and Truck 1) provides high-angle and dive rescue services. Rescue Company 11 (housed with, and staffed by, the crew of Quint 7) provides trench and structural collapse rescue services. Hazardous materials incidents are handled by Haz-Mat Companies 1, 19, and 21. Haz-Mat Company 1 is housed with Engine 1 adjacent the Louisville International Airport, Haz-Mat Company 19 is housed with Engine 19 in the city's west side, near the Rubbertown area, which is home to many indistrual plants, and Haz-Mat Company 21 is housed with Engine 21 on the city's northeast side, near downtown.

Stations and apparatus

As of 2015 below is a complete list of stations and apparatus in use by the Louisville Division of Fire.[3]

Firehouse #	Neighborhood	Engine Company,Telesqurt or Squrt Company	Truck Company,Quint Company or Tower Company	Special Unit	Chief Unit	Battalion
1	Standiford	Engine 1		HazMat 1		3
2	Russell	Engine 2	Truck 1	Rescue 2	Chief 5, Battalion 50 (Safety)	1
3	Bowman		Quint 10	Crash/Rescue 46	Battalion 4	4
4	Crescent Hill	Engine 4				4
5	Downtown	Engine 5	Tower 2		Battalion 2	2
6	Portland	Engine 6				1
8	Klondike	Engine 8				4
9	Smoketown	TeleSqurt 9				2
10	Beechmont	Engine 10	Truck 8		Battalion 3	3
11	Original Highlands		Quint 7	Rescue 11		4
12	Hazelwood	Engine 12		Rehab 12		3
14	Camp Taylor		Quint 9			3
15	Shelby Park	Engine 15		Ventilation Unit 15		2
16	University of Louisville	Engine 16	Truck 3	Air/Utility 16		2
17	California	Squrt 17				1
18	South Louisville	Engine 18				3
19	Park DuValle	Engine 19		HazMat 19		1
20	Bonnycastle	Engine 20				4
21	Butchertown	Engine 21		HazMat 21		2
22	Shawnee	Engine 22	Truck 4		Battalion 1	1
23	Kenwood Hill	Engine 23				3

See also

• Historic Firehouses of Louisville

References

1. "2013 Annual Report" (PDF). Louisville Division of Fire. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
2. "History". Louisville Division of Fire. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
3. "Apparatus". Louisville Division of Fire. Retrieved 26 June 2015.