ABOUT THE FIRE BUREAU

The Bureau of Fire is dedicated and committed to the protection of life and property resulting from fire, both man-made and consequences of natural disasters.

The suppression of fire involves arriving at the scene as quickly as possible in order to attack the fire at the point of origin and prevent its spread. To that end, fire apparatus and firefighters respond from four fire stations strategically positioned throughout the City of Harrisburg.

Ensuring state-of-the-art skills and competency of Harrisburg’s firefighters is also an obvious and essential function of the Bureau. Harrisburg has a comprehensive training apprenticeship program designed to incrementally qualify City firefighters through a certification program designed to help them advance in their competency level and where earned, to the next rank. This program includes practical hands-on training and classroom instruction preparing the individual for certification testing. Harrisburg was the first municipality in Pennsylvania to establish such a comprehensive program.

The Fire Bureau also created a self-assessment process essential to Fire Service Accreditation through the Commission of Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). Harrisburg was the only professional fire department in Pennsylvania seeking to attain this goal. The Bureau continues to finalize the self assessment process and program, in preparation for CFAI accreditation.

Preventing fires is also mission-critical to the Bureau of Fire, so fire safety education remains a core service of the Bureau. Through well-planned, year-round fire prevention programs, the Bureau educates the public about fire and burn hazards, how to prevent fire and burn injuries due to individual carelessness, how to survive a fire once it starts, and how to treat a burn injury properly. The Bureau’s fire prevention program is designed to address the unique issues of home, school, workplace and the community.