Savannah Fire & Emergency Services

Savannah Fire & Emergency Services (SFES) provides fire protection to the city of Savannah, Georgia, United States. The professional fire department is active 24/7 and 365 days a year, and has about 325 paid employees. They received an ISO Class 1 rating in November 2014, and CFAI accreditation in 2016.[1][2]

History

Fire protection in Savannah was first organized in the British-administered Province of Georgia in 1759 with a volunteer force of firefighters. On March 11, 1825, the Savannah Fire Company was officially formed. On February 1, 1867, the Savannah Volunteer Fire Department was established, and on February 1, 1890, the Savannah Fire Department was established as a paid firefighting force of 47 men.[3] In 1911, the Savannah Fire Department became the first fully motorized fire department in the United States.

City officials announced the closure of the Downtown company in November 2018, due to budgetary reasons.[4][5][6] Both Engine 16, and Marine One would be placed on a minimal maintenance schedule, with the 15 firefighters assigned to the station dispersed to other stations.

Divisions

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services is divided into 6 divisions of operation: Operations, Training, Logistics, Special Operations, Investigations, and the Fire Marshal's Division.

Fire station locations and apparatus

The Savannah fire department currently operates out of 15 fire stations located throughout the city; it is organized into 3 battalions, each commanded by one battalion chief each shift. The SFES operates a fire apparatus fleet of 15 engine companies, 5 ladder companies, 2 rescue companies, 4 hazardous materials (haz-mat.) units, 1 haz-mat./decontamination (decon.) trailer, 2 marine units (fireboat), 1 rehabilitation (rehab.) unit, 2 brush units 1 Georgia Search and Rescue (GSAR) trailer, and numerous special, support, and reserve units.[7]

References
  1. "Savannah Fire receives international accreditation". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  2. "Savannah Fire Rescue | Savannah, GA - Official Website". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  3. "Savannah Fire Department History | Savannah, GA - Official Website". Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  4. Eric Curt (2018-11-13). "Savannah docks $1.6 million fire boat, relocates firefighter crew". Savannah Now. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20. In addition, the operation of the Engine 16 pumper truck out of the East Oglethorpe Avenue station will also be discontinued this week, although all 15 firefighters that manned the boat and truck will be shifted to other engines, said Ken Slats, Savannah's acting public information officer.
  5. Darius Johnson (2018-11-08). "Budget cuts shake up fire services". WSAV. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20. They do not expect a decrease in response times with 333 firefighters staffed across the city. But say should they need to perform a water rescue they have other resources such as tugboats and the coast guard. However, those 15 firefighters will remain on standby
  6. Liandra Larsen (2018-11-15). "Engine 16 shuts down in Savannah. So how long will it take firefighters to respond now?". WJCL-TV. Savannah, Georgia. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20. City council decided that resources should be focused on land-based emergencies. The decision to discontinue the engine and its fire boat was predicted to have the least effect on the community. Firefighters disagree, saying marine rescue has saved lives before.
  7. "Operations | Savannah, GA - Official Website". Archived from the original on 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
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