The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department is the fire department of the City of Atlanta and provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The department is responsible for an area of with over 519,000 residents. As of January 21, 2021, the Fire Chief is Roderick M. Smith.

History Officially started in March 25, 1951, as the Atlanta Fire Company No. 1, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department dates its history back to February 1848, when the city council ordered residents to keep fire buckets in their houses.

Stations and apparatus

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department currently operates out of 34 fire stations, located throughout the city of Atlanta, organized into 7 Battalions, including an Airport Battalion commanding 5 Fire Stations that serve the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Below is a list of all of the fire station locations in the city. Fire Station Number Neighborhood Engine Company Truck Company Special Unit Chief Units Battalion1Castleberry Hill Engine 1* Tiller Truck 1 Decon. Unit 1, Air Unit 7, Air Shuttle Unit Division Chief 1 3 2Lakewood Heights Engine 2* Tiller Truck 2 Decon. Unit 2, Air Bag Unit 2 13North Buckhead Engine 3 Mobile Command Unit 6 5Westside Engine 5* Battalion Chief 4 4 4Old Fourth Ward Engine 6* Squad 4 5 7West End Engine 7* EMS-2* 48Hills Park Engine 8 Battalion Chief 2 2 9Adamsville Engine 9* 4 10 Grant ParkEngine 10 Tiller Truck 10 Battalion Chief 5 5 11 Atlantic StationEngine 11 Tower 11 Mini-Pumper 11, Swift Water/Dive Rescue Unit 3 12Edgewood Engine 12 Tiller Truck 12 5 13East Atlanta Engine 13* Mass Decon Unit 5 14Oakland City Engine 14 Tiller Truck 14 1 15Midtown Engine 15* Tiller Truck 15 FAST 15 Battalion Chief 3 316Washington Park Engine 16* Tiller Truck 16 2 17Westview Engine 17* GSAR 61 Collapse Rig 4 18Kirkwood Engine 18 519Virginia-Highland Engine 19 3 20Capitol View Manor Engine 20 1 21Buckhead Forest Engine 21* Tiller Truck 21 Air Bag Unit 21, G.S.A.R. Unit 6 Battalion Chief 6 6 22Grove Park Engine 22 2 23Berkeley Park Engine 23* Mini-Pumper 23 3 24Hartsfield–Jackson Airport Engine 24 (ARFF) Tiller Truck 47 ARFF 1, ARFF 2, Squad 24, Mini pump 51, med 4 7 25Cascade Heights Engine 25 Truck 25 4 26 Westminster Engine 26* Truck 26 6 27Chastain Park Engine 27 Hose Tender 27 6 28Riverside Engine 28 Foam 28, 229Piedmont Heights Engine 29 Truck 29 630Glenrose Heights Engine 30* Battalion Chief 1 1 31Ben Hill Engine 31 Truck 31 4 32Hartsfield–Jackson Airport Engine 32 (ARFF) Med 1, ARFF 3, ARFF4, Mini Pump 44 733Hartsfield–Jackson Airport ARFF 5, ARFF 6, EMS 3*, Foam 1, Foam Tanker 7, Med 5, reserve ambu 7 34Poole CreekEngine 34 Mobile Ambulance Bus 1, antique light truck 1 35Hartsfield–Jackson Airport Engine 35 (ARFF) Med. Unit 2, ARFF 7, ARFF 8, ARFF Reserve Battalion Chief 7 7 38Brookview Heights Engine 38* Tiller Truck 38 2 40Hartsfield–Jackson Airport Engine 40 (ARFF) Truck 41 (ARFF Quint) Med 3, ARFF 9, ARFF 10, Mini Pump 50, Stair Unit 48, Hazmat 2 7

Former stations

Fire Station No. 6, a contributing property of the NRHP-listed Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park Fire Station No. 11, NRHP-listed

Notable incidents

Great Atlanta fire

The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 broke out in the Old Fourth Ward around 12:30 pm on May 21, 1917. At the time of the fire, the department had simple horse-drawn fire apparatus and the city's fire hydrants were running with low pressure. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds. After nearly 10 hours, had burned, destroying 1,900 structures and displacing over 10,000 people. Damages were estimated at $5 million, ($ million when adjusted for inflation).

Winecoff Hotel fire

The Winecoff Hotel fire, which occurred on December 7, 1946, was the deadliest hotel fire in United States history, killing 119 hotel occupants, including the hotel's owners. The Winecoff Hotel had been advertised as "absolutely fireproof." While the hotel's steel structure was indeed protected against the effects of fire, the hotel's interior finishes were combustible, and the building's exit arrangements consisted of a single stairway serving all fifteen floors. All of the hotel's occupants above the fire's origin on the third floor were trapped, and the fire's survivors either were rescued from upper-story windows or jumped into nets held by firemen.

Fire Station No. 16

During the civil rights movement, members of the African-American community pressured the Mayor and City Council of Atlanta to integrate the city's fire department. In 1962, Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. authorized the first hiring of sixteen African American firemen. On April 1, 1963, after completing training, they were housed at Fire Station No. 16, as stations were not yet integrated. Located in 1048 Simpson Rd. (now Joseph E. Boone Blvd.), the station was built upon the former property of Theodore "Tiger" Flowers, the world's first African American middleweight champion. Continuing the efforts to diversify the fire department, Mayor Maynard Jackson ordered the hiring of seven African-American women to serve as firefighters in 1977.

Bluffton University bus accident

The Bluffton University bus accident was an automobile crash that occurred during the early morning hours of March 2, 2007, on Interstate 75 in Atlanta. A chartered motorcoach was carrying 33 members of the Bluffton University baseball team when at about 5:38 am EST, the bus rolled off of an overpass killing seven and injuring 29 others. The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department was the primary agency on scene for the crash.

See also Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

References

External links

Steve B. Campbell Atlanta Fire Department Photographs, 1882-1972 from the Atlanta History Center