The Penn Hills Volunteer Fire Service was started in the Lincoln Park Community of Penn Hills Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the 1920s.
The Penn Hills Firefighters operate out of seven stations, spread throughout the Municipality of Penn Hills and are 100% volunteer. The volunteer firefighters are alerted through pagers and respond to various types of emergencies, including structure, vehicle, brush, and gas fires, odor investigations, vehicle, water and technical rescues, and other public assist calls.
Some stations are hosts to a Junior Firefighter program, allowing students 16 years and older, or 14 years or older in some stations, to participate in training and responding to assist at scenes. Firefighters respond to over 1800 incidents per year. Penn Hills fire units have assisted neighboring communities Verona (285), Wilkins (302, 303, 304), Churchill (122), Oakmont (216), Wilkinsburg (305), the City of Pittsburgh, Plum (233, 234, 235, 236), and Monroeville (192, 193, 194, 195, 196). Most firefighters meet weekly to train.
Penn Hills Station 221 (Lincoln Park #1) was founded in 1921. Station 222 (Rosedale #2) was established in 1923, followed by 223 (North Bessemer #3) in 1925, 224 (Point Breeze #4) in 1925, 225 (Thad Stevens #5) in 1927, 226 (Universal #6) in 1930, and 227 (Penn #7) in 1949.
The first ambulances in Penn Hills operated out of Rosedale VFD and later the Penn Hills Police. The Ambulance is now operated as Penn Hills EMS, a division of the Penn Hills Police Department, which staffs a minimum of 2 paramedics 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year.