Portland Fire & Rescue

Portland Fire and Rescue

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Oregon
City	Portland
Agency overview
Established	January 3, 1883 (1883-01-03) (volunteer force established 1850)
Annual calls	67,191 (2010)
Employees	756 total personnel (2010) - 699 uniformed members - 57 civilian personnel
Annual budget	$91 million (2010)
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Sara Boone
EMS level	ALS
IAFF	43
Motto	Always Ready, Always There
Facilities and equipment
Battalions	4
Stations	31
Engines	28
Trucks	10
Squads	3
Rescues	1
Tenders	1
HAZMAT	1
USAR	1
Wildland	4
Fireboats	4
Rescue boats	2
Light and air	2
Website
Official website
www.portlandfirefighters.org

Station #1, the Headquarters of the Portland Fire Bureau.

Portland Fire and Rescue Boathouse.

Truck #4.

A Fireboat in the background during the Portland Rose Festival's Fleet Week.

A Portland Fireboat during Portland Rose Festival's Fleet Week.

Station 21, Portland's newest fire station. It is located on the shore of the Willamette River next to the boathouses.

An engine at Station 21.

Portland Fire and Rescue Bureau, also known as the Portland Fire Bureau, and sometimes informally the Portland Fire Department, is the principle fire suppression, prevention, and rescue agency of the City of Portland, Oregon, United States. The department is the largest fire protection and emergency medical services provider in the state of Oregon, responsible for an area of 151 square miles (390 km²), with a population of over 632,309. Oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City Commissioners. Currently Mayor Ted Wheeler has assigned the Fire Bureau to Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.

History

Portland's has its origins in the year 1850. Seeing the need for a more organized firefighting force in the growing community, Oregonian editor Colonel Thomas Dryer began writing editorial pieces in the paper about the need for a volunteer firefighting force. Failing to see a group form, Dryer took the idea into his own hands and recruited a group of 37 men to volunteer for the first firefighting company in Portland; this group became known as the Pioneer Fire Engine Company No. 1. While only having a hand pump to fight fires with, Dryer desired to find funding for a steam engine for his company. In April 1851 Portland was incorporated into a city by the Oregon Territorial Legislature. On May 6, 1851, Dryer offered his company's firefighting services to the City Council. The city council voted to approve Dryer's recommendation. Despite the council's passage of a bill to purchase a steam engine for the company, it was never acquired due to mayor Hugh O'Bryant's refusal to sign the bill.

A new city charter was adopted in 1852 that allowed the Portland to form a city fire department. In May of 1853, Dryer was appointed the Chief Warden in charge of the new fire department. A resolution was passed by the city council that stated:

“Resolved. That the whole city be a district for the organization of a Hook and Ladder company; and further, that all that portion of the city lying north of Washington street, be one district for the organization of an engine company and all that part of the city south of that street be another district for the same purpose.”

A fire at a steam mill in 1853 illustrated the need for an organized firefighting force, and on July 29, 1853, the Vigilance Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 was created, consisting of 36 volunteers. On August 6 of the same year 22 volunteers formed the Willamette Engine Company No. 1 covering the Southern District. Willamette Engine Company No. 1 acquired an engine owned by future mayor of Portland, George W. Vaughn and the first engine house in Portland was built on a donated lot on Yamhill Street., bordered by 1st, 2nd, and Morrison. The Portland City Council purchased a hand pump for the company in 1856, which was later replaced by a 2nd Class Amos keag steam apparatus. While these companies together formed the Portland Fire Department, each company had it's own by-laws and constitution, and were in many ways operated as separate entities.

On May 22, 1854, the Portland city council passed an ordinance establishing the Portland Fire Department. H. W. Davis was elected as the first "chief engineer" (or chief), replacing the chief warden, and was reelected to the position in 1855 and 1856. On July 4 of the same year, the volunteers of the Portland Fire Department displayed their new uniforms, black pantaloons, red shirts, black cravats, and navy caps. Due to their uniform shirts, people started referring to the firefighters as "redshirts," a name that stuck with them for some time.

In January 1856, the city council ordered that cisterns were to be built under the city streets, in order to provide a water source for the fire department. There were originally nine wooden cisterns throughout the city, measuring 15' by 9'. These proved to be difficult to upkeep, and the city began using brick for these cisterns.

An attempt had been made in 1853 to put together an engine company for the northern district, however that district never obtained an engine or engine house, and never became an operating company, leaving little historical information about them. As such, there was no engine company covering the northern district until the Multnomah Engine Company No. 2 was formed on November 26, 1856. Initially using Vaughn's small engine, money was later raised to purchase a Hunneman hand pump engine for this company.

In 1857, businessman S. J. McCormick was elected chief. A reorganization of the department in 1857 brought the Willamette Company no. 1, the Multnomah Engine Company no. 2 and Vigilance Hook and Ladder Company no. 1 into the Portland Fire Department, which thereupon had a total of 157 members (volunteer firefighters). Another reorganization in June 1859 added the Columbia Engine Company no. 3 to the department; it was the first engine company in Portland to use horses. As the city's population grew, additional fire companies were organized, including the Protection Engine Company no. 4, in November 1862; the Tiger Company no. 5, in 1873; and the Couch Engine Company no. 6, in 1880..

While the city was going through a drought, on August 2, 1873, the Great Fire of 1873 broke out at the Hurgren and Shindler furniture shop at the corner of First & Taylor. The alarm bell at the Willamette Fire Company #1 was drowned out by the noise of the fire and not heard. The fire quickly spread, and twelve hours later, twenty-two blocks of the city had been burned. The cause of the fire was never determined, however it was suspected that arson was the cause. Due to the alarm not being heard, the city ordered a new alarm bell which could be heard as far away as Oregon City. In 1875 the system was replace by alarm boxes and engine gongs connected through telegraph wires. In 1879 the members of the department's five companies totaled 375.

Portland Paid Fire Department

In 1883 the Portland Fire Department, while still augmented by volunteers, became known as the Portland Paid Fire Department. In January of this year, the department submitted it first budget totaling $55,340 for the entire year, with $25,940 being for the annual salary for the department's 52 employees, which included a Chief Engineer, two Assistants, a Secretary and 48 firefighters in five companies. Under this new name, the volunteer companies in the downtown area were replaced by full time firefighters, while the volunteers still responded to alarms and worked side by side with the full time staff. Unlike today, firefighters during this time did not work shifts and they rarely left or traveled far from their station houses; with many actually living in the fire station. Paid firefighters worked seven day weeks, getting only 12 hours off during an entire week.

The importance of volunteers expanded in 1891 when Portland consolidated with the cities of East Portland and Albina, more than doubling the size of the city.

In 1904 the department officially became a fully paid fire department, with the temporary firefighters being paid for their time served. Even still, some outlying areas in the city felt they needed additional protection, and continued to operate volunteer companies, with these companies being provided resources by the city fire department. Most of these volunteer companies were gone by the 1930s. The City of Portland provided the funds for the department to purchase their first fire boat, the George H. Williams in 1904.

By 1906 firefighters with the Portland Fire Department had begun wearing turnout gear. This year also saw Chief Engineer Campbell elected President of the Pacific Coast Fire Chief's Association. With the automobile becoming more available after the turn of the century, the department began purchasing motorized apparatus in 1909. 1911 saw the department purchase its last horse drawn piece of equipment, enabling the department to become completely motorized by 1920.

Due to the departments ranks being cut after the start of World War II, volunteer firefighting returned to Portland. While not part of the front line firefighting forces, auxiliary companies were created and given reserve status, with their own company numbers. Following the end of the War, the auxiliary forces expanded, having their own officers and chiefs through seven districts. When the city of Portland withdrew from the Federal Civil Defense Administration in 1963, all forms of volunteer firefighting in the city disappeared.

Fire stations and apparatus

As of May 2016, the department operates out of 31 fire stations strategically located the city.

Station #	Location	Address	Engine Company	Ladder Truck Company	First Aid Unit	Special Unit	Chief Unit
1	Old Town	55 SW Ash Street	Engine 1	Truck 1		Rescue Craft 1 Technical Rescue Unit 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit 1 Squad 1 Utility 1	Deputy Chief 103
2	Parkrose	4800 NE 122nd Avenue	Engine 2	Truck 2
	Station 2 includes PF&R's training facility, so both apparatus have extended cabs to seat two additional firefighters.
3	Northwest/Pearl District	1715 NW Johnson Street	Engine 3	Truck 3
4	Portland State University	511 SW College Street	Engine 4	Truck 4
5	Hillsdale	1505 SW DeWitt Street	Engine 5		Rescue 99	Rehabilitation Unit 5	Battalion Chief 1
	Rescue 99 is Portland Fire's SERT paramedics, which responds to tactical incidents when Portland Police's Special Emergency Reaction Team is activated.
6	Northwest Industrial	3660 NW Front Avenue	Engine 6			Fireboat 6 Fireboat 6R (reserve)
	Reserve Fireboat 6 is the David Campbell, which entered service in 1927.
7	Mill Park	1500 SE 122nd Avenue	Engine 7	Truck 7		HazMat Conditions Unit 458 HazMat Unit 7 Rescue Craft 7	Battalion Chief 3
	Hazmat 7 is Portland's primary hazardous materials response unit, and Oregon State Region 7 HazMat Emergency Response Team.
8	Kenton	7134 North Maryland Avenue		Truck 8
9	Hawthorne	1706 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd	Engine 9			MC9	Battalion Chief 4
10	Burlingame	451 SW Taylors Ferry Road	Engine 10	Truck 10
	Engine 10 is sometimes used in service when Truck 10 is out for repairs.
11	Lents	5707 SE 92nd Avenue	Engine 11		Rescue 11
12	Sandy Blvd.	8645 NE Sandy Boulevard	Engine 12			Squad 12
	Squad 12 is a tillered crane, the first of its kind manufactured by Pierce in 2012, designed to support Urban Search and Rescue operations in the event of an earthquake.
13	Lloyd	926 NE Weidler Street	Engine 13	Truck 13		Water Tender 13
14	Alberta	1905 NE Killingsworth Street	Engine 14			Brush Unit 14
15	Arlington Heights	1920 SW Spring St	Engine 15
16	Sylvan	1715 SW Skyline	Engine 16			Brush Unit 16 Water Tender 16
17	Hayden Island	848 North Tomahawk Island Drive	Engine 17			Fireboat 17 Fireboat 17R (reserve) Rescue Boat 17
18	Multnomah Village	8720 SW 30th Avenue	Engine 18			Brush Unit 18 Heavy Squad 18
19	Mt. Tabor	7301 East Burnside Street	Engine 19			Rehabilitation Unit 19
20	Sellwood	2235 SE Bybee Boulevard	Engine 20
21	Eastbank	5 SE Madison St.	Engine 21			Fireboat 21 Rescue Boat 21 Utility 21
22	St. Johns	7205 North Alta Street	Engine 22	Truck 22		Brush Unit 22 Utility 22
23	Lower Southeast	2915 SE 13th Place	Engine 23		Rescue 23
24	Overlook/Swan Island	4515 North Maryland Street	Engine 24		Rescue 24	Foam Unit 24 Heavy Squad Unit 24	Battalion Chief 2
25	Woodstock	5211 SE Mall Street	Engine 25	Truck 25
26	Portsmouth/University Park	5247 North Lombard Street	Engine 26
27	Forest Heights	3130 NW Skyline Boulevard	Engine 27			Brush Unit 27 Jeep 27
28	Hollywood	5540 NE Sandy Boulevard	Engine 28
29	Powellhurst	13310 SE Foster Road	Engine 29			Brush Unit 29
30	Gateway	13313 NE San Rafael Street	Engine 30
31	Rockwood	1927 SE 174th Avenue	Engine 31		Rescue 31
	Station 31 is shared with Gresham Fire & Emergency Services. PF&R staffs Station 31 on A and C shifts, and Gresham staffs it on B shift.

Legend

Callsign	Full title
T	Truck (PF&R operates tillers, towers and quints all under the callsign "Truck")
E	Engine
S	Squad (PF&R operates one heavy rescue squad, located at Station 1)
R	Rescue response vehicle (modified GMC Yukons which respond to medical emergencies and can provide Advanced life support)
HS	Heavy Squad (These units are assigned to Chemical and Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) response, as well as responding to high-rise fires)
FU	Foam Unit
FB	Fireboat
RB	Rescue Boat
RC	Rescue Craft (specially outfitted SeaDoos which respond to water rescues from Station 1)
C	Battalion Chief or Deputy Chief (PF&R always has four battalion chiefs on duty across the city, as well as a deputy chief at its headquarters at Station 1)
BU	Brush Unit (responds to brush fires and emergencies in areas not accessible by normal fire apparatus)
JP	Jeep (responds to emergencies in areas and weather conditions not accessible by normal fire apparatus)
UT	Utility (ATVs which respond along trails and other areas not accessible by normal fire apparatus)
HM	HazMat
HC	HazMat Conditions Unit
RHB	Rehabilitation Unit
AU	Air Unit
TR	Technical Rescue Unit
USAR	Urban search and rescue

External links

• Media related to Portland Fire Bureau at Wikimedia Commons