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Atlanta Fire Rescue Department

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Georgia
City	Atlanta
Agency overview[2]
Annual calls	87,320(2014)
Employees	1,125(2015)
Annual budget	$144,419,459(2024)
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Roderick M. Smith[1]
Mayor of Atlanta responsible	Andre Dickens
EMS level	ALS andBLS
IAFF	134
Facilities and equipment[citation needed]
Battalions	7
Stations	35
Engines	35
Trucks	17
Squads	2
USAR	2
Airport crash	10
Rescue boats	4
Website
www.atlantafirerescue.com
IAFF website

TheAtlanta Fire Rescue Department is the fire department of the City of Atlanta and providesfire protection and first responderemergency medical services to the city ofAtlanta,Georgia.^[3] The department is responsible for an area of 132.6 square miles (343 km²) with over 519,000 residents.^[3] As of January 21, 2021, the Fire Chief is Roderick M. Smith.^[4]

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.^[5]

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The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department currently operates out of 34fire 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.^[6][7]

• Fire Station No. 6, acontributing property of theNRHP-listedMartin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park
• Fire Station No. 11,NRHP-listed

TheGreat Atlanta fire of 1917 broke out in theOld Fourth Ward around 12:30 pm on May 21, 1917.^[8] At the time of the fire, the department had simple horse-drawnfire apparatus and the city'sfire hydrants were running with low pressure. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds.^[8] After nearly 10 hours, 300 acres (120 ha) had burned, destroying 1,900 structures and displacing over 10,000 people. Damages were estimated at $5 million, ($123 million when adjusted for inflation).^[8]

TheWinecoff 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.^[9] TheWinecoff 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.^[9] 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.

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, MayorIvan 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, MayorMaynard Jackson ordered the hiring of seven African-American women to serve as firefighters in 1977.^[10]

TheBluffton University bus accident was an automobile crash that occurred during the early morning hours of March 2, 2007, onInterstate 75 in Atlanta. A chartered motorcoach was carrying 33 members of theBluffton 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.

• Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

• Official website
• Steve B. Campbell Atlanta Fire Department Photographs, 1882-1972 from theAtlanta History Center
• Lunch and Learn: A Brief History of the Atlanta Fire Department, Atlanta fire chief Joe Tolbert on YouTube

• Organizations based in Atlanta
• Fire departments in Georgia (U.S. state)

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