Charlotte Fire Department

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The Charlotte Fire Department is tasked with protecting the lives and property of the 680,000 who live and work in the Charlotte, North Carolina, USA and the 2.6 million people in the metro proper.

1 About the Department
- 1.1 Organization
  - 1.1.1 Administration
2 Brief History
3 Apparatus
4 References
5 External links

[edit] About the Department

The CFD maintains the Emergency Management Office of the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The Charlotte Fire Department is commanded by Fire Chief Luther Fincher who is a 42-year department veteran. Chief Fincher retired on December 29, 2007 ^[1] and was replaced by his Deputy JB Hannan^[2].

The Department consist of 1,300 firefighters.

In 2001 a Pipe and Drum band was started that plays for both civic and public events^[3]

[edit] Organization

[edit] Administration

The Charlotte Fire Department's Administration Office is located at 228 East 9th Street in uptown Charlotte.

Office of the Fire Chief

Deputy Chief, Administration

Budget
Payroll
- CFD Credit Union
Accounts Payable
- CFD Vendors
Planning and Research
Human Resources and Recruiting
Information Technology
Health and Safety
Logistics Division
- Logistics is a division that provides supplies and support to the Fire Department in a timely manner, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Deputy Chief, Shift A

Fire Prevention Bureau
- The Fire Prevention Bureau is responsible for the enforcement of the North Carolina Fire Code and other applicable standards and ordinances on both new construction and existing buildings. This is accomplished by the efforts of several branches with-in the division that include fire plans examiners, fire inspectors, and an inspector responsible for overseeing the City's fire hydrant program.

Fire Investigation Task Force
- Charlotte's Fire Investigation Task Force is composed of Charlotte Fire Department fire investigators and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arson investigators. The task Force is led by the Chief Fire Investigator.

Deputy Chief, Shift B

Training Division
- The Charlotte Fire Department Training Division, at 1770 Shopton Road, provides continuing education for members of the fire department through regular training programs. Fire Recruit School also takes place at the Training Academy. The training staff is led by the Chief of Training.

Public Information Officer (PIO)

Deputy Chief, Shift C

Communications Division
- The Communications Division of the Charlotte Fire Department is a stand-alone 24-hour emergency communications center that is responsible for matching the public's requests with the resources of the Fire Department.

Operations Division

The Charlotte Fire Department's Operations Division is separated into 7 Battalions. There are 38 fire stations located in the city that house a number of different apparatus.

Public Fire and Life Safety Education

The Public Fire and Life Safety Education Division of the Charlotte Fire Department plans and conducts community fire and life safety education programs to teach youngsters how to handle fire emergencies.

Emergency Management Division

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office (CMEMO) is a local governmental agency which coordinates large-scale emergency situations in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

The agency assists emergency response departments with specialized needs and provides detailed planning procedures for incidents requiring multi-agency participation's.

[edit] Brief History

The census of 1850, the first to enumerate the residents of Charlotte separately from Mecklenburg County, showed the population to be 1,065. By then, Charlotte covered an area of 1.68 square miles and was certainly large enough that bucket brigades were inadequate for fire protection.

The first mention of fire services in the City records occurs in 1845, when the Board of aldermen approved payment for repair of a fire engine.

The volunteers would assemble at the Square to find out where the fire was, then run to its location. The first arriving firemen would go to the station at Trade and College for the engine and then run to the fire. The original volunteers called themselves the Hornets.

The City's first offices were located in a building at North Tryon and East Sixth. Quarters for two fire companies were provided. The Neptune's had the Sixth Street side, and the Independence hook and Ladder had the Tryon Street side. Originally, the hook and ladder truck was too long for the building and had to be housed outside.