Arlington County Fire Department

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Arlington County Fire Department
ArlingtonCountyFireDepartment-Logo.png
Operational area
Country  United States
State  Virginia
County Arlington
Agency overview
Established 1950
Employees 327 (uniformed & civilian)
Staffing Career
Fire chief Joseph Reshetar
EMS level ALS
IAFF 2800
Facilities and equipment
Stations 10
Engines 9
Trucks 3
Rescues 2
Ambulances 7
HAZMAT 1
Website
Official website
IAFF website

The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) provides essential 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]

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 are committed to eliminating threats to the lives, safety and property of the Arlington community. They 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.[citation needed]

Staffing

File:MDW Eng Co Arl Co Firefighter.jpg
Arlington County firefighters often train with the 911th Engineer Company.

Arlington County Fire Department is a career fire department, with over 300 sworn career firefighters. All units are staffed 24 hours a day by career firefighters who are divided into three platoons.[1] Engine, rescue and truck/tower companies in Arlington are typically staffed by four firefighters and ALS medic units with two firefighter/paramedics. Arlington operates nine engine companies, three truck companies, two rescue companies and seven 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 Deputy Chief, one Battalion Chief, an EMS Supervisor, an Assistant Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshals in each division.[1]

ACFD Units
Station Location Engine Special Service Medic Other
1 Glebe Road Engine 101 HazMat 101 Medic 101 Battalion 111
2 Ballston Engine 102 - Medic 102 EMS 112 / ACFD Command Unit
3 Cherrydale Engine 103 Bomb Squad - Battalion 112 / Chief 112
4 Clarendon - Tower 104 / Rescue 104 Medic 104 Command Aide 114 / Duty Fire Marshal
5 Jefferson District Engine 105 Truck 105 Medic 105
6 Falls Church Engine 106 Truck 106 Medic 106
7 Fairlington Engine 107 - - -
8 Hall's Hill Engine 108 - - Mobile Air Unit (MAU)
9 Nauck Engine 109 Rescue 109 Medic 109 EMS 111
10 Rosslyn Engine 110 - Medic 110 TRT Trailer

Volunteer operations

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Main articles: Cherrydale Volunteer Fire House and Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department

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 emergency scene lighting and air replenishment 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 11th and the Pentagon

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Main articles: American Airlines Flight 77 and September 11 attacks
File:E105atPentagon.jpg
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.[citation needed]

Gallery

  • ACFD-Bomb-Squad-Command-Veh.jpg

    Bomb squad command vehicle.

  • ACFD-Bomb-Disposal-trailer.jpg

    Bomb disposal trailer.

  • ACFD-Bomb-Disposal-trailer-2.jpg

    Bomb disposal trailer.

See also

External links

References

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  11. ↑ Goldberg et al., p. 72.
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  13. ↑ Goldberg et al., p. 77.
  14. ↑ Goldberg et al., p. 78.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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