Fast Facts about Portland Fire & Rescue

Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) promotes a safe environment for all people who live and work in Portland and the surrounding areas.  PF&R provides an extensive range of public safety services including fire prevention, public education, response to fire, medical and other emergency incidents, and disaster mitigation.

Personnel

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-08, PF&R was comprised of 755 employees;  91% were male and 9% were female.

PF&R Employee Diversity Profile

Fast Facts

PF&R provides emergency services to more than 550,000 citizens, protects about 150 square miles, and currently operates:

• 30 fire stations strategically located through the city
• 30 engine companies
• 9 truck companies
• 1 heavy rescue company
• 2 fireboats
• 1 HazMat company
• 5 command staff (4 battalion chiefs and 1 deputy chief)
• 2 paramedic rescues
• 2 heavy squad which are dedicated to Chemical and Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) response
• Various support and auxiliary equipment (e.g. brush units, air and rehab units, water rescue craft (wave runners), ATVs, water tender, foam unit, etc.)

Specialty Teams

PF&R has several specialty teams that are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

• Water Rescue
• Dive Rescue
• Trench Rescue
• Confined Space Rescue
• High Angle Rope Rescue
• HazMat Team
• Marine Unit
• Fire Investigations Unit
• SERT Team Paramedics (Portland Police Bureau Special Emergency Response Team)

Total Responses

In FY 2007-08, PF&R:

• Responded to 65,721 calls, an average of 180 calls per day or a call every 8 minutes
• Responded to 2,074 fires, an average of almost three structure fire calls per day
• Loss of life due to fire was less than one per 100,000 residents
• Six-city average is 2.4 structure fires per thousand residents; Portland's average is 1.4 per thousand

EMS

• About 69% of calls are emergency medical service
• 43% of the medical calls in FY 2007-08 were trauma, breathing, and chest pain issues 
• Every firefighter is certified at least at an Emergency Medical Technician - Basic (EMT-B) level

Updated: 08/07/09