The Charleston Fire Department was founded in 1882 and continues to meet the challenges of serving a growing, thriving, and historic port city. The CFD is an internationally accredited and ISO 1 rated agency providing fire suppression, rescue and emergency medical services, hazardous materials mitigation, fire inspection, fire investigation and risk reduction education for the City of Charleston.
The department provides services to approximately 140,000 citizens, and over 6 million visitors per year, across the 134 square miles of the city. The department is led by the fire chief who oversees 390 uniformed and non-uniformed personnel. The workforce is comprised of multiple divisions that work together to improve safety in the community.