Providence Fire Department
Encyclopedia
The Providence Fire Department, also known as the PFD, is the principal fire suppression, prevention, and rescue agency of Providence, Rhode Island
, under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Providence. The Providence Fire Department is the largest fire department in Rhode Island. It is also one of the oldest major organized fire departments in the nation. Concurrently, some firefighters serve as EMT-Cardiacs with the Providence Fire Department Emergency Medical System.
The PFD Fire Suppression Division is organized into 3 battalions. 1st covered by Division 1, 2nd by Battalion 2 and 3rd by Battalion 3. In addition to the Fire Suppression and Rescue Divisions, the PFD is divided into a Fire Prevention Bureau (prevention and investigation), Bureau of Operational Control (dispatch and communication), and Division of Training (training and professional development).
Each type of alarm for help is categorized as either a Box Alarm, Still Box Alarm, Special Signal, or Still Alarm.
A Box Alarm is an alarm for help received from either a street box alarm pulled by a person witnessing an emergency or from a master box alarm found in many high occupancy residential and commercial buildings, schools, dormitories, hospitals, churches. A box alarm assignment may be increased or reduced at the discretion of the BOC or responding chief depending on additional information available, such as a caller stating that construction workers accidentally set off a smoke detector with dust or paint, which in turn transmitted a master box alarm to the BOC. On the other hand, the response may be increased accordingly if a fire-related condition is found or called in.
A Still Box is an alarm of fire, smoke, or other fire-related condition in a building received by telephone. Upon trasmission of a Code Red indicating a working fire, additional companies are usually dispatched. An Engine company will be dispatched as the Command Company, to assist the incident commander as needed. The engine company officer will become the incident safety officer. An additional Ladder Company will be dispatched as a F.A.S.T. Company (Firefighter Assist and Search Team) to assemble equipment at the scene and be ready to intervene rapidly if a firefighter transmits a mayday message or otherwise requires urgent assistance. The Air Supply truck will be dispatched to replace or refill air bottles used at the fireground. A Rescue company will also be dispatched to a confirmed fire if not already sent.
The incident commander may request additional fire companies in the form of an additional alarm assignment (ie- 2nd alarm, 3rd alarm, 4th alarm, etc.) if more personnel and apparatus are needed. Alternatively, any combination of companies may be requested to the scene in addition to companies already responding on a special signal.
A Special Signal is the dispatching of additional companies to an incident which has already been dispatched, without adding an entire additional alarm assignment.
Examples of common Special Signals:
A Still Alarm is any alarm of an emergency which is not a box alarm, still box alarm or special signal. There are some standard responses, but a still alarm response is determined by the BOC depending on the needs and nature of that specific call.
The codes used by the Providence Fire Department are:
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Providence. The Providence Fire Department is the largest fire department in Rhode Island. It is also one of the oldest major organized fire departments in the nation. Concurrently, some firefighters serve as EMT-Cardiacs with the Providence Fire Department Emergency Medical System.
Chain of command
Listed below are the chains of command for the two major divisions of the Providence Fire Department: Fire Suppression and Rescue (Emergency Medical Services). The lists rank from lowest-level employee to senior command staff. Employees in these ranks may also serve in other divisions and bureaus.Fire Suppression and Rescue (EMS) Divisions
- Trainee
- Firefighter or Rescue Technician
- Fire or Rescue Lieutenant (Company Officer)
- Fire or Rescue Captain (House and Company Officer)
- Fire or Rescue Battalion Chief
- Fire or Rescue Deputy Assistant Chief
- Assistant Chief of Department (There are two Assistant Chiefs. The Assistant Chief of Administration and the Assistant Chief of Operations.)
- Chief of Department
The PFD Fire Suppression Division is organized into 3 battalions. 1st covered by Division 1, 2nd by Battalion 2 and 3rd by Battalion 3. In addition to the Fire Suppression and Rescue Divisions, the PFD is divided into a Fire Prevention Bureau (prevention and investigation), Bureau of Operational Control (dispatch and communication), and Division of Training (training and professional development).
Fire Station Locations and Apparatus
| Engine Company | Ladder Company | Rescue Ambulance | Command Unit | Special Unit | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine 2 | Ladder 7 | Rescue 3 | Battalion 3 | 10 Branch Ave. | |
| Engine 3 | Tower Ladder 1 | Rescue 4 | Division 1 | Special Hazards 1 | 325 Washington St. |
| Engine 4 | 270 Rochambeau Ave. | ||||
| Engine 5 | 155 Humbolt Ave. | ||||
| Engine 6 | Rescue 2 | Mini-Pumper 1 | 489 Hartford Ave. | ||
| Engine 7 | Ladder 4 | Rescue 5 | Air Supply Unit | 151 N. Main St. | |
| Engine 8 | Tower Ladder 2 | Battalion 2 | 201 Messier St. | ||
| Engine 9 | Ladder 8 | 223 Brook St. | |||
| Engine 10 | Ladder 5 | 847 Broad St. | |||
| Engine 11 | 274 Reservoir Ave. | ||||
| Engine 12 | Ladder 3 | Mini-Pumper 2 | 426 Admiral St. | ||
| Engine 13 | Rescue 1 | Support Unit | 776 Allens Ave. | ||
| Engine 14 | Ladder 6 | Rescue 6 | 630 Atwells Ave. | ||
| Engine 15 | 136 Mt. Pleasant Ave. |
Types of Responses
The dispatchers, lieutenants and captain at the Bureau of Operation Control (BOC, also called Fire Alarm) have protocols which in conjunction with Aegis Computer Aided Dispatch software by New World Systems, determine who to send to what type of emergency. Who is sent depends on how an alarm for help is received and what the closest available (and appropriate) apparatus are at the time of the alarm.Each type of alarm for help is categorized as either a Box Alarm, Still Box Alarm, Special Signal, or Still Alarm.
A Box Alarm is an alarm for help received from either a street box alarm pulled by a person witnessing an emergency or from a master box alarm found in many high occupancy residential and commercial buildings, schools, dormitories, hospitals, churches. A box alarm assignment may be increased or reduced at the discretion of the BOC or responding chief depending on additional information available, such as a caller stating that construction workers accidentally set off a smoke detector with dust or paint, which in turn transmitted a master box alarm to the BOC. On the other hand, the response may be increased accordingly if a fire-related condition is found or called in.
- Street Box Alarm - 1 Engine (and 1 Ladder after 11pm)
- Master Box Alarm - 3 Engines, 2 Ladders, 1 Chief officer
A Still Box is an alarm of fire, smoke, or other fire-related condition in a building received by telephone. Upon trasmission of a Code Red indicating a working fire, additional companies are usually dispatched. An Engine company will be dispatched as the Command Company, to assist the incident commander as needed. The engine company officer will become the incident safety officer. An additional Ladder Company will be dispatched as a F.A.S.T. Company (Firefighter Assist and Search Team) to assemble equipment at the scene and be ready to intervene rapidly if a firefighter transmits a mayday message or otherwise requires urgent assistance. The Air Supply truck will be dispatched to replace or refill air bottles used at the fireground. A Rescue company will also be dispatched to a confirmed fire if not already sent.
The incident commander may request additional fire companies in the form of an additional alarm assignment (ie- 2nd alarm, 3rd alarm, 4th alarm, etc.) if more personnel and apparatus are needed. Alternatively, any combination of companies may be requested to the scene in addition to companies already responding on a special signal.
- If only 1 call received - 3 Engines, 2 Ladders, Special Hazards 1, 1 Chief officer
- If multiple calls received - 3 Engines, 2 Ladders, Special Hazards 1, 1 Chief officer, 1 Rescue
- 2nd and 3rd alarms - 2 Engines, 1 Ladder, 1 Chief officer for each alarm assignment.
- 4th alarm and greater - 2 Engines and 1 Ladder for each alarm assignment.
A Special Signal is the dispatching of additional companies to an incident which has already been dispatched, without adding an entire additional alarm assignment.
Examples of common Special Signals:
- Sending a second Rescue to a vehicle accident
- Sending an Engine/Ladder to assist a Rescue with forcible entry
- Sending the Special Hazards to a vehicle accident to assist with extrication
- Sending additional fire apparatus to a fire where the incident commander doesn't request a complete additional alarm assignment
- Sending another company to an emergency when a company already responding encounters another emergency
A Still Alarm is any alarm of an emergency which is not a box alarm, still box alarm or special signal. There are some standard responses, but a still alarm response is determined by the BOC depending on the needs and nature of that specific call.
- 1 Rescue: medical emergencies requiring basic medical care
- 1 Rescue + 1 Engine or Ladder: medical emergencies requiring advanced medical care and/or forcible entry, vehicle accidents
- 1 Engine: car fires, grass fires, downed power lines, water (flooding) emergencies
- 1 Engine + 1 Ladder: commercial alarms monitored by private companies such as ADT
- 1 Engine + Special Hazards 1: vehicles leaking fuel or other fluids, small fuel or oil spills, lockouts from running or occupied vehicles
- 1 Ladder + Special Hazards 1: carbon monoxide detector alarms
- 1 Ladder: forcible entry needs (ie-keys locked in building/apartment)
- 1 Engine, 1 Ladder, Special Hazards 1, 1 Rescue, Chief officer: elevator emergencies, industrial accidents, vehicle accidents involving a rollover, (leaking) gas emergencies
- 1 Engine, 1 Ladder, Special Hazards 1, 1 Rescue, Chief officer, Dive Team members: water rescues, ice rescues
Codes
The officer in charge of the first arriving fire company is responsible for giving an initial situation report to Fire Alarm, and relaying whether or not additional resources are needed.The codes used by the Providence Fire Department are:
- Code Red - Confirmed structure fire. Unless otherwise specified, a Code Red report automatically triggers the dispatch of additional companies (see Still Box). If companies responding to a Box Alarm or Still Alarm find a fire-related condition, you might hear the officer ask Fire Alarm to "fill in the box" which means to dispatch additional companies to make the response equal to a Still Box response.
- Code Yellow - The situation can be handled by the companies specified by the reporting officer. For example, if the first engine of a Box Alarm assignment encounters a condition other than fire, the officer might report a Code Yellow for the first engine and first ladder, and possibly the responding chief.
- Code Blue - Malicious false alarm.
- Code "C" - Proceed without the use of emergency lights and sirens; on a non-emergency basis. An officer already at the scene of an emergency can request a company or companies not already on the scene to continue their response Code "C".
- Code 99 - Cardiac Arrest, CPR in progress.