The New York City Fire Department in the United States, like most fire departments around the world, is organized in a paramilitary fashion. Its organizational structure includes regional commands for various geographic areas within its jurisdiction, operational commands for units of different functions, and administrative units and offices for various administrative functions.
Beneath that hierarchy are the individual units and uniformed personnel which carry out the missions and responsibilities of the fire department, which includes the primary role of emergency response and firefighting, as well as a range of other roles and duties.
Personnel
Executive Staff
The Department's executive staff is divided into two areas including a civilian fire commissioner who is in charge of the Department and a Fire Chief who is the operational lead. The current Fire Commissioner is Laura Kavanagh and the current Chief of Department is John J. Hodgens . The 28-member executive staff includes the civilian deputy commissioners who are responsible for administrative bureaus within the Department, along with the Chief of Department, Chief of Fire Operations, Chief of EMS, Chief Fire Marshal, Chief of Training and other staff chiefs. Staff chiefs include the seven citywide tour commanders, the Chief of Fire Prevention, and the Chief of Safety.
Fire Operations
Under the command of the Chief of Department, there are three Assistant Chiefs and two Deputy Assistant Chiefs who serve as Borough Commanders. Each Borough Commander is responsible for one of the five boroughs within New York City. Each Borough Commander is responsible for commanding and reporting to the Deputy Division Chiefs and Battalion Chiefs within their respective boroughs.
Each borough is divided into Divisions and Battalions. Each Division is responsible for all of or a geographical section of a borough. Each Battalion is responsible for a geographical section of each Division. Each Battalion is further divided into individual firehouses that serve specific neighborhoods within each Battalion. Each Division is commanded by a Deputy Division Chief and each Battalion is commanded by a Battalion Chief.
Each firehouse contains several different fire companies and specialty units. There are six different types of fire companies that operate six different types of fire apparatus, or "rigs". Each company serves a different and unique purpose at fires or other emergencies. The six fire company types are Engine Companies, Ladder (or Truck) Companies, Squad Companies, Rescue Companies, Haz-Mat (Hazardous Materials) Company, and Marine Companies.
Each individual fire company is commanded by a Captain and three Lieutenants. The Captain is in charge of that company's firehouse. In a firehouse that contains more than one fire company, the Captain assigned to the engine company is in charge of the firehouse. When a Captain is not on-duty, one of the three company Lieutenants commands the unit. Each company, depending on the specific unit, has the following assignments: There are 4 firefighters on Engine Companies with the fifth man or woman being the on-duty officer. Ladder Companies, Squad Companies, and the Rescue Companies staff the units with 5 firefighters on each tour or shift, excluding the on-duty officer. During each tour, each firefighter is assigned a specific "riding position" on the company's apparatus that designates what task each member is to perform at the scene of a fire or other emergency situations.
Apparatus Profile
217 City-Wide Firehouses
3 Marine Stations
Frontline Fire Companies
197 Engine Companies (Including 6 High-Pressure Engines) 143 Ladder (Truck) Companies 69 Rear-Mount Aerial Ladder Trucks 61 Mid-Mount Platform Ladder Trucks 13 Tractor-Drawn Aerial Ladder "Tiller" Trucks 5 Rescue Companies 8 Squad Companies 1 Hazardous Materials Company 3 Marine Companies