Operations

Fire suppression in action.

Bunker Gear at Station 2.

Firefighter on scene of structure fire.

The Operations Division of the Lakeland Fire Department is responsible for personnel and all emergency responses for the Lakeland Fire Department. These services include:

1) Fire Suppression

2) Emergency Medical Services

3) Training

4) Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue

5) Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting

6) Personnel Management

Several of the services outlined above have their own divisional leadership and collectively have achieved a significant amount in the past year and are individually elaborated on the following pages as part of the Operations Division. 

The Operations Chief has a staff of a Training Chief, Rescue Chief, 6 Battalion Chiefs, 156 emergency response personnel, and one Office Associate. Emergency response personnel work a 24 hours on, 48 hours off schedule with shift change occurring at 8:00 a.m. The main responsibility of the Operations Division is to provide effective emergency response as well as to ensure that personnel are trained to local, state, and national standards to provide safe and effective response.

Lakeland Fire Department’s firefighters respond to a wide variety of emergency and non-emergency calls that include: structure fires, wild land fires, motor vehicle accidents, vehicle extrication, emergency medical responses, water rescue incidents, hazardous material incidents, technical rescue incidents, and aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF). 

Operations personnel participate in training, pre-fire planning, commercial risk assessments, initiate life safety drills, fire suppression, maintain equipment in a state of readiness, and interact with the public on fire prevention issues as part of their regular work duties.