The St. Petersburg Fire Department became a paid force in 1907, after many years as a volunteer department. The first fire station in St. Petersburg is today the McNulty Building, (named for the department's second Fire Chief) and is now a historic office building in the heart of downtown. This building once housed St. Petersburg's first “fire trucks”; horse-drawn carriages. Today, St. Petersburg has 30 pieces of firefighting apparatus,13 fire stations, and a force of over 300 firefighters and paramedics.
In 1993, the St. Petersburg Fire Department changed its name to St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue to better reflect the high volume of emergency medical services provided in addition to fire suppression activities. St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue also provides specialized life safety services by staffing three specialty teams. The Technical Rescue Team is housed in our Northshore Fire Station and is outfitted to respond to elevated, below-grade, confined-space, and structural collapse rescues. The Hazardous Materials Team responds out of our Downtown Master Fire Station to spills and releases of toxic substances, liquids, or gases countywide. Our Dive and Marine Rescue Team, located at our Lakewood Fire Station, is staffed by certified rescue divers and responds to rescue victims of emergencies on St. Petersburg's many waterways.
Our A, B and C shifts work 24-hours on duty and 48 hours off, and are managed by 6 District Chiefs. Each “DC” is responsible for a designated area of the City. Each shift also has 2 rescue lieutenants that respond to complex medical calls and oversee patient care. The LR's are housed in Stations 1 and 10 and are strategically placed for quick response into their designated districts.
Our downtown Fire Headquarters building houses a heavy equipment repair shop, and offices for over 40 administrative personnel, including 5 Division Chiefs and the Fire Chief. Headquarters is also home to our Fire Inspectors, Public Educators, Training Coordinators, Accountants, Computer Services and Office Systems Specialists who work behind the scenes of St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. The headquarters building transforms into an Emergency Operations Center in times of crisis.
St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue protects the lives and property of over 260,000 residents and responds to over 40,000 emergency incidents annually.