Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue
 |
|
| Saving Life and Property | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| City | Fort Lauderdale |
| Agency overview | |
| Established | 1912 |
| Annual calls | 44,387 (2013) |
| Employees | 461 |
| Staffing | Career |
| Fire chief | Robert F. Hoecherl |
| IAFF | 765 |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Battalions | 3 |
| Stations | 11 |
| Engines | 12 |
| Trucks | 2 |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Ladders | 2 |
| Squads | 1 |
| Ambulances | 14 |
| HAZMAT | 1 |
| Airport crash | 1 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
| IAFF website | |
Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department is the fire and rescue service provider for the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as the cities of Wilton Manors and Lazy Lake through service contracts. Additionally the FLFRD is responsible for ARFF at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. In 2013, the department responded to 44,387 calls for service.
Fort Lauderdale's fire department was created in 1912 as a volunteer department after a large conflagration destroyed a large portion of what is now the downtown core of Fort Lauderdale. The fire, which destroyed all but three buildings in the previously bustling downtown business district, prompted the city to purchase its first fire equipment consisting of a chemical extinguisher mounted on carriage wheels, and a hand operated pump. Unique to Fort Lauderdale was that the fire department never had horse-drawn apparatus. The chemical extinguisher was pulled to fires by an International Harvester truck, and the pump was pulled to the fire scene by the firefighters themselves. The pump also carried 500 feet of fire hose, which at times was not sufficient to reach fires in the city, due to inadequate roads.
The first fire station, the second in Broward County, was built in January 1913 on Andrews Avenue and SW 2nd Street and was part of the first City Hall building. The police station, jail, and all other city offices. Prior to this time, all firefighting equipment was housed at a private citizen’s warehouse. In 1913, the department and its equipment would be put to use at the first major fire since the great fire of 1912, when the Osceola Hotel burned down. After this fire, the department received its first fire truck, consisting of a used car sold to the town.
When Dr. R. S. Lowry was appointed chief in 1914, he divided the town into four districts. When a fire occurred, each district had a unique whistle that was blown to direct the firefighters to the fire’s location. When Milo Sherman was hired as the first paid fire chief in 1917, he was given the blessing of the city to purchase the first formal piece of fire apparatus. At the time, the department was still using the used automobile as a fire truck, and Chief Sherman then purchased an American LaFrance fire engine. Shortly after buying this first engine, Chief Sherman was able to purchase a Brockway truck for $7,500 which carried hundreds of gallons of water, used to fight the numerous brush fires, which at the time were a threat to the city. Chief Sherman also built the department's second station with his own money at 700 S Andrews Avenue. He did this because he felt the city needed a fire station on each side of the New River. This fire station still stands today, and operated until it was sold in 1985 to a private citizen, where it is currently used as a law office.
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Wikipedia