St John’s Regional Fire Department

The St. John's Regional Fire Department with the City of St. John's is responsible for:

St. John's Regional Fire Department Organizational Chart

Contact us at:
Administration – Central Fire Station
P.O. Box 908, St. John’s, NL  A1C 5M2
Phone: (709) 576-8644
Email: fire@stjohns.ca

For more information on the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) please visit the Fire and Emergency Services section of the website.

Office of the Fire Chief (Director)
Through the office of the Director of Regional Fire Services (Fire Chief), the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) provides the region with an acceptable level of fire and emergency protection in the most economical manner, with backup emergency services being provided to a number of surrounding towns in the Northeast Avalon Region. 

Services provided to the public include, but are not limited to:

  • Fire Suppression
  • Fire Prevention
  • Road Traffic Accident Response
  • Medical Response
  • Hazardous Materials Response
  • Special Teams Response (High Angle, Confined Space, Water Rescue and Helicopter Rescue)
  • 911 Communication Services

Operations
The Operations Division is the largest division in the department and consists of the suppression and training divisions. Providing a wide range of emergency and general public assistance services to the region, suppression personnel stand ready 24 hours per day to respond to emergency calls. Along with responding to fire, vehicle and medical emergencies, specialty teams are ready to respond to such incidents as hazardous material emergencies, helicopter rescues, high angle (cliff) rescues, water rescues and confined space rescues.

The Suppression Division also seeks to create, implement and support programs that reduce emergencies. The division reduces the risk to persons, property and environment by regularly conducting pre-fire planning in buildings. Floor plans with hazard information, emergency contacts and hazardous material inventories, are very helpful in reducing damage and disruption and are readily available when responding to fire emergencies for use in evacuations and fire attack.

Operational services are provided from seven fire stations, six of which are staffed by paid full-time firefighters 24 hours per day, and one fire station operated by paid, full-time firefighters eight hours per day (Monday to Friday) and volunteers for evenings and weekends.

The Training Division is responsible for the training and career development of the SJRFD Suppression staff. Developing long term training strategies, including theory and practical training to educate personnel on the latest equipment and techniques, is the primary mandate of the division. Utilizing the Training Tower located at Kenmount Fire Station, officers are able to create realistic practical drills for firefighters. These scenarios allow personnel to perform duties efficiently and effectively with due regard for safety and compliance with policies, procedures, standards and in conformity with applicable law. 

Fire Prevention
The Fire Prevention Division is responsible for public fire safety education, inspection duties, code enforcement and plans review. Many requests are also received each year from citizens, industry, businesses, organizations and community groups to provide fire prevention presentations.

Fire prevention programs include:

  • Learn Not to Burn - fire safety presentation for elementary school children
  • Hazard House - a portable house that creates fire hazard awareness for all ages
  • Evacuation Planning - educating businesses, schools and citizens on developing evacuation plans for homes and workplaces
  • Sparky the Fire Dog - SJRFD mascot who makes fire prevention fun for kids

911 Communications
The Communications Centre, is located in Central Fire Station and provides 911 emergency call handling services as one of two Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

All fire and rescue related 911 calls received for the SJRFD region are handled directly by SJRFD Fire Dispatchers; all other 911 calls are promptly forwarded to the appropriate emergency response agency for the caller’s area.

The Communications Centre remains fully-functional in the event of a shutdown crisis in the building or area. If necessary, all 911 calls are re-routed to the 911 PSAP in Corner Brook for handling, while SJRFD fire dispatch remains operational because of the Redundant Fire Dispatch Centre, located in Mount Pearl Fire Station, and becomes operational within seconds of a critical event.

Administration and Information Services
This division provides SJRFD with support in the areas of Human Resource Management, Technical Services and Financial Planning. Staff have an important role in the operation of the department. With a wide variety of clerical and analytical skills, they are able to meet the demands from all department areas.

Mechanical Services
This division repairs and maintains all apparatus and related fire equipment including portable pumps, portable generators and extrication equipment.

Goulds Volunteer Fire Department
The Goulds Volunteer Fire Department is responsible for providing a range of emergency and general public assistance services to the region from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m., Monday to Friday and during weekends. The remaining hours are responded by full-time paid staff from the Goulds Fire Station. While this division operates with a considerable degree of independence, their operations are integrated within the department and they form an integral part of the fire and life safety service within their geographic area of responsibility.