The Rockford Fire Department is responsible for protecting the lives and property of citizens endangered by fire, life-threatening illness or injury, hazardous material emergencies and major disasters. The Operations Division is administered by a Division Chief, six District Chiefs, and a secretary.
The Rockford Fire Department provides advanced life support on all apparatus. At any given time, there are approximately 230 firefighters certified as Paramedics. These individuals are dual-role personnel who work a 24-hour shift. They divide their time by 12 hours to the ambulance and 12 hours to the fire suppression company to which they are assigned. All fire suppression companies have an automatic defibrillator that facilitates early defibrillation, a proven life-saving technique.
The Rockford Fire Department is the Emergency Service Disaster Agency (ESDA) for the City of Rockford and is responsible for mobilizing public resources in the event of a major disaster or emergency in the city. The City of Rockford ESDA works closely with the Winnebago County ESDA to ensure that maximum resources are available to effectively mitigate, respond to, and recover from any major disaster that may occur within the City of Rockford, Winnebago County, or northern Illinois.
The Rockford Fire Department provides fire suppression for the City of Rockford with 13 fire suppression apparatus responding from 11 stations located throughout the city.