# Atlanta Fire Rescue Department

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department is the fire department of the City of Atlanta and provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The department is responsible for an area of 132.6 square miles (343 km$^2$) with over 519,000 residents. As of January 21, 2021, the Fire Chief is Roderick M. Smith.

## History

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department got its start in February 1848 when residents were ordered to have fire buckets ready in their homes. It wasn't until three years later, after several major fires, that the Georgia Legislature approved a bill that authorized the formation of Atlanta Fire Company No. 1, which went into service on March 25, 1851.

## Stations and apparatus

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department currently operates out of 34 fire 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.
| Fire Station Number | Neighborhood | Engine Company | Truck Company | Special Unit | Chief Units | Battalion |
| 1 | Castleberry Hill | Engine 1* | Tiller Truck 1 | Decon. Unit 1, Air Unit 7, Air Shuttle Unit | Division Chief 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Lakewood Heights | Engine 2* | Tiller Truck 2 | Decon. Unit 2, Air Bag Unit 2 | | 1 |
| 3 | North Buckhead | Engine 3 | | Mobile Command Unit | | 6 |
| 5 | Westside | Engine 5* | | | Battalion Chief 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Old Fourth Ward | Engine 6* | | Squad 4 | | 5 |
| 7 | West End | Engine 7* | | EMS-2* | | 4 |
| 8 | Hills Park | Engine 8 | | | Battalion Chief 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Adamsville | Engine 9* | | | | 4 |
| 10 | Grant Park | Engine 10 | Tiller Truck 10 | | Battalion Chief 5 | 5 |
| 11 | Atlantic Station | Engine 11 | Tower 11 | Mini-Pumper 11, Swift Water/Dive Rescue Unit | | 3 |
| 12 | Edgewood | Engine 12 | Tiller Truck 12 | | | 5 |
| 13 | East Atlanta | Engine 13* | | Mass Decon Unit | | 5 |
| 14 | Oakland City | Engine 14 | Tiller Truck 14 | | | 1 |
| 15 | Midtown | Engine 15* | Tiller Truck 15 | | Battalion Chief 3 | 3 |
| 16 | Washington Park | Engine 16* | Tiller Truck 16 | | | 2 |
| 17 | Westview | Engine 17* | | GSAR 61 Collapse Rig | | 4 |
| 18 | Kirkwood | Engine 18 | | | | 5 |
| 19 | Virginia-Highland | Engine 19 | | | | 3 |
| 20 | Capitol View Manor | Engine 20 | | | | 1 |
| 21 | Buckhead Forest | Engine 21* | Tiller Truck 21 | Air Bag Unit 21, G.S.A.R. Unit 6 | Battalion Chief 6 | 6 |
| 22 | Grove Park | Engine 22 | | | | 2 |
| 23 | Berkeley Park | Engine 23* | | Mini-Pumper 23 | | 3 |
| 24 | Hartsfield–Jackson Airport | Engine 24 (ARFF) | Tiller Truck 47 | ARFF 1, ARFF 2, Squad 24, Mini pump 51, med 4 | | 7 |
| 25 | Cascade Heights | Engine 25 | Truck 25 | | | 4 |
| 26 | Westminster | Engine 26* | Truck 26 | | | 6 |
| 27 | Chastain Park | Engine 27 | | Hose Tender 27 | | 6 |
| 28 | Riverside | Engine 28 | | Foam 28, | | 2 |
| 29 | Piedmont Heights | Engine 29 | Truck 29 | | | 6 |
| 30 | Glenrose Heights | Engine 30* | | | Battalion Chief 1 | 1 |
| 31 | Ben Hill | Engine 31 | Truck 31 | | | 4 |
| 32 | Hartsfield–Jackson Airport | Engine 32 (ARFF) | | Med 1, ARFF 3, ARFF4, Mini Pump 44 | | 7 |
| 33 | Hartsfield–Jackson Airport | | | ARFF 5, ARFF 6, EMS 3*, Foam 1, Foam Tanker 7, Med 5, reserve ambu | | 7 |
| 34 | Poole Creek | Engine 34 | | Mobile Ambulance Bus 1, antique light truck | | 1 |
| 35 | Hartsfield–Jackson Airport | Engine 35 (ARFF) | | Med. Unit 2, ARFF 7, ARFF 8, ARFF Reserve | Battalion Chief 7 | 7 |
| 38 | Brookview Heights | Engine 38* | Tiller Truck 38 | | | 2 |
| 40 | Hartsfield–Jackson Airport | Engine 40 (ARFF) | Truck 41 (ARFF Quint) | Med 3, ARFF 9, ARFF 10, Mini Pump 50, Stair Unit 48, Hazmat 2 | | 7 |

### Former stations

* Fire Station No. 6, a contributing property of the NRHP-listed Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park
* Fire Station No. 11, NRHP-listed

## Notable incidents
### Great Atlanta fire

The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 broke out in the Old Fourth Ward around 12:30 pm on May 21, 1917. At the time of the fire, the department had simple horse-drawn fire apparatus and the city's fire hydrants were running with low pressure. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds. 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, ($119 million when adjusted for inflation).

### Winecoff Hotel fire

The Winecoff 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. The Winecoff 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. 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.

### Fire Station No. 16

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, Mayor Ivan 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, Mayor Maynard Jackson ordered the hiring of seven African-American women to serve as firefighters in 1977.

### Bluffton University bus accident

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