This Branch is lead by six District Chiefs who oversee the delivery of fire suppression, rescue and emergency medical services to the citizens and visitors of Alachua County. We staff fifteen (15) fire/rescue stations 24/7. All of the Department’s units are staffed to the advance life support (ALS) level.
The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) is responsible for fire protection services to the unincorporated area and by contracts to the Cities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne and Waldo. Fire suppression is provided via direct service provider or contract with participants of the Fire Services Network. The Department operates nine fire trucks and one squad unit, all staffed with paramedics. Total responses for service from County fire units exceeded 15,000 in FY2011. The average yearly change (increase) for fire responses is 7.13% over the last ten years.
The City of Gainesville and the urban/urban cluster area around the City of Gainesville are protected by Alachua County Fire Rescue and Gainesville Fire Rescue Department via the Fire Services Assistance Agreement (FSAA). The FSAA is a fully reciprocal agreement that ensures the closest units are dispatched to emergency incidents regardless of political jurisdiction. Emergency operations between the two agencies are seamless.
By Ordinance the BoCC is the sole provider of EMS transport throughout Alachua County, unincorporated and incorporated areas. The Department operates twelve Advanced Life Support (ALS) rescue units (ambulance) that had 36,077 responses in FY 2011. This represents approximately 3,000 responses per rescue unit per year. The average yearly change (increase) for rescue unit responses is 4.4% over the last ten years.