The Scranton Fire Department (also known as the City of Scranton Bureau of Fire, SFD, Scranton Fire, and Station 50) 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 ...

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

services,

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...

mitigation, to the City of

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. The department used volunteer fire companies throughout its history and was established as a career

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

on May 4, 1901. The city maintained a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters from 1901 to 1907 when a full time department was established. The Scranton Fire Department remains a full-time all career department today, with a total of about 142 professional

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

s and fire officers protecting the City of

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

History

The City of

utilized numerous volunteer fire companies from 1866 (The year

incorporated as a city) onward until the local government formally enacted an

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * ...

authorizing a paid bureau of fire in 1901. On May 4, 1901, the City of Scranton Bureau of Fire was established. This, however, did not remove volunteers from the City's fire responses, as the department continued to utilize volunteers in a paid/volunteer combination system until 1907. Rescue No

During a

Typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

epidemic in 1906, the Health Bureau was concerned noise from audible fire sirens used to alert volunteers would disturb patients. In response to this, the Bureau of Fire added 25 permanent firefighters to its roster bolstering its paid staff and lessening the need for these audible fire siren systems. In 1911, the Bureau of Fire purchased its first motorized fire apparatus, a Chief's car. More apparatus would be motorized going forward until horse-drawn firefighting vehicles were phased out completely in 1923.

Ambulance service

The Scranton Fire Department began to maintain an ambulance service starting 1948. They were known as Car 20 (later known as Car 24) and Car 23. Two firefighters would staff the ambulance and respond to medical calls in the City. This would remain until 1988 when the ambulance service was discontinued.

Union representation

After years of going without a

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, Scranton Firefighters organized under The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), Local 60. The

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

lapsed its membership in the 1930s, again foregoing a

until 1940, when it rejoined under IAFF Local 669. This would remain until 2000 when the Union successfully won the right to use its original IAFF Local Union number. To this day Scranton Firefighters are represented by IAFF Local 60.

Stations and apparatus

The City of

currently maintains 7

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

s which house all fire apparatus,

s, and offices for the

. This amounts to having 5

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

companies, 2

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

companies, a

company, and a command/chief car providing protection to the City of Scranton on a daily basis. The department also keeps specialty vehicles in reserve for use on specific incident types. Additionally, the city of Scranton keeps 4 engines and one truck company in reserve in case additional fire protection service is needed or to swap out apparatus while the front line apparatus are maintained and repaired.

Fire station response areas and conditions

* Fire Headquarters located at 518 Mulberry St, Scranton PA, 18510 ** Fire Headquarters houses Engine Company No. 4, Truck Company No. 2, and Assistant Chief Car 21 (The shift commander). This station's first due area is Central City, the Hill Section, Green Ridge and parts of South Side. In the event of a second alarm fire these companies will respond everywhere in the city. In addition to the three units housed here, this station houses the

Fire Prevention Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions which should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires and how to survive these fires in the event that they do o ...

and Investigation offices, the office of the Deputy Chief and the office of the Superintendent of Fire. Fire Headquarters was built in 1905 and is a protected historical landmark. Scranton Fire Department Truck 2

* Rescue Company No. 1 located at 940 Wyoming Ave, Scranton, PA 18509 ** This station houses Rescue Company No. 1 and Car 30-A, the department's structural collapse truck. Rescue Company No. 1 is dispatched on all alarms in the city. In addition to fire suppression, Rescue Co. 1 responds to all motor vehicle accidents,

industrial accidents A work accident, workplace accident, occupational accident, or accident at work is a "discrete occurrence in the course of work" leading to physical or mental occupational injury. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more tha ...

calls, and all other tasks demanded of a modern Rescue Company. This station also maintains and repairs the department's self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Car 30-A is only dispatched and manned when needed. * Engine Company No. 2 located at 500 Gibbons St, Scranton, PA 18505 ** This station houses Engine Company No. 2 and Engine Company No. 1 (Reserve). Engine Co. 2's First due area covers Southside and Minooka. This company will respond to East Mountain, West Side, Central City, and the Hill Section in the event of a second alarm fire. Engine Co. 2 is designated as one of

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton. The county ...

’s

Decontamination Decontamination (sometimes abbreviated as decon, dcon, or decontam) is the process of removing contaminants on an object or area, including chemicals, micro-organisms or radioactive substances. This may be achieved by chemical reaction, disinfecti ...

units. This station is also where the department's

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called ''pipes'' (the word ''pipe'' usually refers to a rigid tube, whereas a hose is usually a flexible one), or more generally '' ...

is repaired. Engine Company No. 1 is only manned when additional staffing is needed or when acting as a replacement for another company. Scranton Fire Department HAZMAT 1

* Truck Company No. 4 located at 1047 N Main Ave, Scranton, PA 18508 ** This station houses Truck Company No. 4, and Engine Company No. 9 (Reserve). This station's first due covers West Side, North Scranton, Tripp Park, the Plot Section, parts of Central City, and Keyser Valley as its first due area. This company is on all second alarm fires. Engine Company No. 9 is only manned when additional staffing is needed or when acting as a replacement for another company. * Engine Company No. 7 located at 1917 Luzerne St, Scranton, PA 18504 ** This station houses Engine Company No. 7, Truck Company No. 1 (Reserve), and Attack No. 1 (Brush). This station's first due is West Side, Bellevue, West Mountain and Keyser Valley. When called on a second alarm it will go to North Scranton and parts of Central City. When requested Engine Co. 7 will also assist the

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

Volunteer Fire Department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...

and the

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

. This station also repairs the department's fire helmets. Truck Company No. 1 is only manned when additional staffing is needed or when acting as a replacement for another company. Attack No. 1 is only dispatched and manned when requested for

brush fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

or other specialty incidents. * Engine Company No. 8 located at 205 W Market St, Scranton, PA 18508 ** This station houses Engine Company No. 8 and Car 30, the mobile air re-supply unit. This station's first due area is North Scranton, the Plot, and parts of Green Ridge. In the event of a second alarm fire Engine Co. 8 will go to West Side, Central City, parts of the Hill Section and Keyser Valley. This station also stores the mobile smoke house, used for presentations primarily for children to teach how to escape form a home fire. Car 30 is only dispatched manned when requested for specialty incidents or large structure fires. * Engine Company No. 10 located at 1900 E Mountain Rd, Scranton, PA 18505 ** This station houses Engine Company No. 10. this station responds to all of East Mountain, and parts of upper South Side for first alarm assignments. On a second alarm it will respond to south side, Minooka, the Hill Section and parts of Central City.

References

{{Pennsylvania fire departments Scranton, Pennsylvania Fire departments in Pennsylvania