The Georgetown Fire Department operates out of 2 fire stations with 3 engines, 1 Ladder Truck, 2 Basic Life Support Ambulances, 1 Fire Command Vehicle, a Utility/Brush Vehicle, a fire prevention vehicle, and a boat. The Erie Fire Association owns one of the two stations (on North St.) and leases the apparatus bays to the town and houses 1 of the 3 engines. We operate utilizing a combination of current NFPA and traditional methodologies and tactics.
The station is staffed 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, with a minimum of 3 Firefighter/EMT’s between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. From 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. 7 days a week the station is staffed with two Firefighter/EMT’s. For additional support, our call members are dispatched if necessary to support operations, as well as our mutual aid partners and county and state resources.
The Georgetown Fire Department responds to more than 1,300 calls emergency calls per year of varying types. Emergency calls consist of emergency medical calls, structure fires, motor vehicle accidents, as well as general rescue and alarms. In addition, the department performs over 400 inspections annually and issues permits, participates in community events, and educates the public in fire and life safety initiatives, continually trains and educates the membership as well as maintaining its equipment.
The primary purpose of a fire department and the core reason for its existence is to fight fires; this core work is carried out by members of the Georgetown Fire Department and mutual aid partners. Fire suppression response relies on several key factors which include; early notification, rapid response and an aggressive fire attack to suppress fires before they can increase in size.
The Georgetown Fire Department also employs current technology to safely fight fires during an aggressive initial fire attack, including:
- the most up-to-date personal protective equipment
- Thermal imaging cameras
- NFPA compliant SCBA’s
- Fire Hose and appliances
Even with today’s technology most firefighting cannot be accomplished without sufficient training and an abundance of manual labor on scene to extinguish the fire.
In addition to firefighting, the members of the Georgetown Fire Department respond to an array of emergencies including but not limited to emergency medical calls, motor vehicle accidents, general rescue calls, hazardous material incidents, and odors of gas.