Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Jacksonville, Florida, as well as all unincorporated areas of Duval County. According to a list of the thirty largest fire departments in the United States, based on staff size, JFRD is number eighteen. Duval County has the fifth largest fire department in the state based on the number of fire stations. JFRD is among the largest departments in the state and the nation. The department is made up of six divisions, sixty-three fire and rescue station locations, a professional career force of roughly thirteen-hundred individuals. History In Jacksonville's early days, citizens responded to fires by forming formed bucket brigades. In 1852, Jacksonville upgraded its firefighting apparatus with the acquisition of a hand pumper. The wheeled pumper had large handles on each side, which were pumped up and down in a seesaw manner to create hydraulic pressure. On April 5, 1854, the hand pumper was put to the test when a spark from the paddle steamer Florida ignited a fire at the docks along Bay Street between Ocean and Newnan. The pumper proved no match for the conflagration, which destroyed the pumper along with 70 buildings,