Fire Department

About Us

The Danbury Fire Department is an all hazard emergency response agency. Our core mission is to provide for the safety and security of citizens and visitors to Danbury. Each of our divisions has established a mission statement that directly supports the overall mission of the Department. Danbury comprises 44 square miles and our resident population is over 82,000 with over 100,000 commuters, students and shoppers in the city daily. On any given day, our members might respond to a structure fire, a hazardous material situation, assist a mother with unlocking her car or provide medical assistance at a motor vehicle accident. The primary focus of the Department is to provide the best possible customer service on every call.

When people call 911 and have an emergency they expect help immediately. We respond to medical calls, water leaks, flooding, odors, alarms, fallen trees, aircraft crashes, motor vehicle accidents and people trapped underground, above ground, and just about anywhere in between. 

In 2021, our 911 center answered over 55,500 calls. This resulted in 5,026 fire and service responses and an additional 6,176 "first responder" medical responses. Of special note is the very high rate of cell phone calls to our Public Safety Answering Point or 911. This percentage of calls to 911 originating from a cell phone has climbed steadily as more citizens use these as opposed to traditional landlines. The landline phones are rapidly disappearing.

The Danbury Fire Department is highly trained and educated. Firefighters go through a rigorous process to be appointed to the Department and then attend various educational forums throughout their career. This is critical to the fire service as the dynamic nature of emergency response evolves constantly. Though our mission to protect our citizens and visitors remains the same, completing the mission requires ever vigilant training and preparation.

Continuing formal education is encouraged and supported by the department. College courses through Naugatuck Valley Community College have been taught at our facility in headquarters. Members of the Department hold certificates from the National and State Fire Academies, the State of Connecticut and independent training groups. Many of our members hold advanced degrees ranging from Associates to Masters Degrees.

The Department Career Division currently comprises staffing of one hundred and twenty members. This allows the Department to staff five fire stations with five engine companies, a two vehicle rescue company, an aerial truck company and a command vehicle. These assignments are staffed twenty four hours a day. Our Community Risk Reduction Division, comprised of the Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshals, investigates fires and explosions, reviews building and site plans and inspects buildings to ensure compliance with fire codes and safety requirements. In addition, administrative and command staff positions address various assignments such as training, communications, EMS, and apparatus repair.

A major component of the department is the Volunteer Division. These men and women serve the community of Danbury in various capacities as members of twelve volunteer companies. They serve as Firefighters, Fire Police and Apparatus Engineers. These 136 members undergo similar training as the career members and trained for thousands of hours this year. They are an integral and vital part of the Department. As volunteers, they give freely of their time to protect our citizens.

The Department is a keystone in Connecticut's regional response plan with a number of resources of the State housed in Danbury. These resources will respond to the region or anywhere in the State staffed by Danbury firefighters. We provide staffing to operate and support a Hazardous Material Response Vehicle, Petrochemical Response Foam Trailer, a Mass Hazardous Material Decontamination Trailer and a Mass Casualty Trailer.

Our Accomplishments:

• Added marine response to Fire Department, consisting of public safety boat and dock buildout on Candlewood Lake.
• Purchased a new Rescue Pumper Truck.
• Swore in a new Chief of Department, Assistant Chief, two new Deputy Chiefs, two new captains, four new Lieutenants, and hired seven new Firefighters
• Conducted a successful, life-saving Trench Rescue Operation

 Our Goals:

• Complete construction of new storage facility adjacent to Station 26
• Begin third phase of radio infrastructure build-out including microwave transmitter/receivers.
• Expand City Smoke Detector Program
• Finalize new medical exam standards in an effort to maintain the health and safety of all members of the Fire Department