City of Elkhart, Indiana

Fire Department

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Fire Patch Logo The Elkhart Fire Department has served the community and its citizens for more than one hundred years. Beginning in the 1800's with a small group of men who formed the first bucket brigade, the department has evolved into a modern urban department, that employs the industries most advance equipment and techniques. The department is currently staffed by one hundred twenty-four sworn firefighters who perform a wide variety of specialties and provide numerous services.

The department is currently comprised of seven stations located throughout the city. Located within these stations, the departments active fleet of apparatus is comprised of 6 engines companies, 2 truck companies and 4 paramedic ambulances. We also posses three reserve engines and two reserve ambulances for use in times of extreme emergency or when mechanical issues occur.

The department currently employs 35 state certified paramedics. Each of these professionals is certified in not only advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), but also Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) and Intermediate Trauma Life Support (ITLS). In addition, all must undergo a rigorous monthly auditing process to assure quality service is being delivered to our citizenry. All firefighters employed the Elkhart Fire Department are required to be certified by the State of Indiana as a firefighter and as a emergency medical technician.

The department offers numerous specialized services which include but are not limited to; vehicular extrication, hazardous material mitigation and swift water rescue. The department also has the ability to conduct its own fire investigations with the use of our own inspector / investigator division. A unique feature of the department is that it employs its own staff of ACS certified mechanics. This allows all but the most extensive repairs to be performed in-house, thereby cutting the costs to the department and therefore the public.

The department delivers on average 12,000 responses per year with approximately 80% being EMS related. In order to deliver these services to the public, the department is dispatched through the city's emergency 911 dispatch center. The center effectively answers 90,000 calls per year and dispatches police, fire, and EMS through a state of the art 800 mghz radio system.

The men and women of the Elkhart Fire Department train on a daily basis to deliver to our citizens the best possible service available and we live by the saying; ANY TIME, ANY WHERE, WE OUR HERE TO SERVE YOU.