The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1797 and established in 1859, the Baltimore City Fire Department covers an area of of land and of water, with a resident population of over 640,000 and a daytime population of over 1,000,000. The BCFD responds to approximately 235,000 emergency calls annually. There are two International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) locals; IAFF 734 for firefighters and IAFF 964 for officers.
History Baltimore's early firefighting was performed by volunteers. The various companies engaged in serious rivalries, resulting in what a Baltimore mayor termed "irregularities". For example, gangs operating out of firehouses participated in the Baltimore Know-Nothing riots of 1856. A municipal organization was established in 1859.
The Great Baltimore Fire in 1904 burned for 30 hours straight and decimated a major part of central Baltimore, including over 1,500 buildings. Mutual aid companies from as far away as Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City were called in to assist. The fire led to uniform national standards in fire fighting equipment and protocols. As with other large fires of the time, it was a predecessor to the stringent fire codes of today.
In popular culture The movie Ladder 49 portrays the BCFD, with a fictional truck company (referred to as a ladder company in the film). Members of the BCFD served as advisors for the film.
Frequencies The Baltimore City Fire Department operates on a 800mhz APCO-25 Phase 1 digital system. This is a list of simulcast VHF frequencies to program into a scanner or radio to listen to BCFD radio communication:
+All frequencies in MHzChannelFrequencyUse1154.310VHF backup3154.385Fireground 1, 2, 3 or 4 simulcast (only simulcasts the most recent ongoing incident)5154.415A2 dispatch simulcast6154.145A1 main simulcast
Baltimore civil unrest of 2015
During the civil unrest in Baltimore that took place from April 27, 2015 to April 28, the Baltimore Fire Department was backed up with multiple calls and also battled against rioters. Many fire trucks were damaged by rioters; bottles and rocks were thrown at the trucks as they were responding to incidents. In one case there is also video footage of a citizen cutting a fire truck's fire hose in an effort to hinder its effectiveness. The Baltimore Fire Department responded to 144 vehicle fires and 15 structure fires during the course of the unrest. Many surrounding areas such as Howard County Fire & Rescue, Anne Arundel County Fire Department and Prince George's County Fire Department sent crews to Baltimore to help the Baltimore Fire Department during the riots.
Fire and rescue stations and apparatus StationLocationBattalionFire unitsEMS unitsOther unitsEngineTruckRescue SquadAmbulanceRoman A. Kaminski Fire Station2120 Eastern Ave., 21231FirstE5T3M10520 S. Conkling St., 21224FirstE41BC11601 Broening Hwy, 21224FirstE50M2EMS 15714 Eastern Ave, 21224FirstT20A20Critical Alert 42645 N. Highland St, 21205FirstE514315 Mannasota Ave, 21206FirstE27T26Thomas J. Burke Fire Station1100 Hillen St, 21202SecondE6T1M7BC2, SO2, AirFlex 2, Shift Commander, Mobile Communications UnitSmokestack Hardy Fire Station405 McMechen St, 21217SecondE13T16M43123 Greenmount Ave, 21218SecondE31A3Herman Williams Jr. Fire Station805 E. 25th St, 21218SecondE33T5M16EMS 2800 Light St, 21230SecondE21503 W. LaFayette Ave, 21217ThirdE8T10M15BC31908 Hollins St, 21223ThirdE143220 Frederick Ave, 21229ThirdE30T8M12Charles R. Thomas Fire Station2249 Edmondson Ave, 21223ThirdE36EMS 32608 Washington Blvd, 21230ThirdE47608 Swann Ave, 21229ThirdE531229 Bush St, 21230ThirdE55T23Critical Alert 433724 Roland Ave, 21211FourthE21T25Critical Alert 444522 Harford Rd, 21214FourthE42M6, A301100 Walters Ave, 21239FourthE43M18BC4, EMS 42 Upland Rd, 21210FourthE44A195821 Belair Rd, 21206FourthT30Squad 546512 Harford Rd, 21214FourthE56Walbrook Station3130 W. North Ave, 21216FifthE20T18A83906 Liberty Heights Ave, 21207 FifthT12Squad 40BC52700 Glen Ave, 21215FifthE45T27M145500 Reisterstown Rd, 21215FifthE46EMS 5Hilton L. Roberts Sr. Fire Station3525 Woodbrook Ave, 21217FifthE52John F. Steadman Memorial Station15 S. Eutaw St, 21201SixthE23Rescue 1M1, A23BC6, EMS 6, AirFlex 1, Hazmat 1, Decon 11001 E. Fort Ave, 21230SixthE26T6M5BC EMS, Critical Alert 66430 Maude Ave, 21225SixthE35T21M94427 Pennington Ave, 21226SixthE572425 Annapolis Rd, 21230SixthE582609 Leahy St, 21230SixthFire Boat 1, Fire Rescue Boat 1
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