The Virginia Beach Fire Department (VBFD) provides

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

and

emergency medical service Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

s to the city of

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The department protects an area of as well as of inland waterways and of shoreline. The

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

is home to a population of 450,882, not including the summer population growth due to tourism, making it the most populous city in

and the 39th largest city in the United States.

Operations

USAR Task Force 2

The Virginia Beach Fire Department is the founding member of one of Virginia's two

FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force Members of FEMA US&R Task Force at World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks. A FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (US&R Task Force) is a team of individuals specializing in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage a ...

. Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2) is available to respond to natural or man-made disasters around the country and the world to assist with search and rescue, medical support, damage assessment and communications.

Marine Operations

The VBFD Marine Operations Team is responsible for patrolling of inland waterways as well as of shoreline. The team also provides mutual aid to parts of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

as well as the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

. The operations team has three

fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipme ...

s at their disposal: * ''Fireboat 1'' is a Argus Class Northwind with an enclosed cabin and a pump docked in Lynnhaven Inlet.: * ''Fireboat 6'' is a Metal Shark aluminum response vessel with a pump docked at Station 6 in Creeds. * ''Fireboat 12'' is a former

USCG The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

utility boat that is designed to operate under rough weather and sea conditions where its speed and maneuverability make it an ideal platform. It is kept at the City Dredge Ops marina located in Owls Creek.

Stations and Apparatus

References

{{Authority control Fire departments in Virginia

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

1963 establishments in Virginia