Fire Rescue Administration

Arlington Fire Department’s Fire Training Division ensures each firefighter is prepared to protect lives and property by providing the skills and knowledge necessary to respond effectively to any emergency they encounter. Comprehensive training begins in the classroom with our highly competent corps of instructors before placing our members in a safe, realistic environment to perform a variety of firefighting skills. Dedicated to our belief in ‘Forging our Future,’ AFD’s Training Division delivers these essential courses: 

• Basic Training School for Recruits
• Professional Development Courses:
  • Driver/Operator Pumper
  • Driver/Operator Aerial
  • Fire Instructor 1 & 2
  • Fire Officer 1 & 2
  • Leadership Academy Series 
• Continuing Education
• Company and Battalion Drills
• Extrication Training

The Logistics team is responsible for managing and maintaining the equipment and resources that our firefighters rely on. From ensuring that our fire stations are well-stocked with essential supplies to overseeing the maintenance and procurement of fire apparatus, our Logistics team ensures that our firefighters have everything they need to perform their duties safely and efficiently.

Our Dispatch Services are the heartbeat of our emergency response operations. Our highly trained dispatchers are the first point of contact for those in need, coordinating and directing our emergency response teams to incidents across Arlington. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology, our dispatchers work tirelessly to ensure that help arrives quickly and efficiently.

Our goal is to answer 90% of all emergency calls within ten seconds or less using state of the art equipment. Our center answers approximately 400,000 calls from citizens each year and dispatches over 300,000 of those to police; 45,000 to fire; and 55,000 to emergency medical services.

Our call takers are trained to handle all calls for service involving police, fire or medical emergencies. During their initial training academy and subsequent on-the-job training, they learn how to handle all police and fire calls. However, additional training is required before they’re able to take medical emergency calls. This specialized training consists of CPR and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) certifications, enabling them to give lifesaving instructions until help arrives.

We take pride in the diversification of our dispatch center. We currently have several bi-lingual call takers to whom calls may be transferred from other call takers to help with language translation. In cases where there are no bi-lingual call takers available, Arlington 9-1-1 subscribes to the Voiance Language services which can translate over 100 languages. Each call take station is equipped with TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) equipment and our call takers are trained on procedures for taking calls from hearing impaired callers.

If you are interested in a career with Arlington Dispatch Services, you can apply on the City Website. The position is listed Telecommunicator. Contact DispatchServicesHiring@arlingtontx.gov if you have questions about the application process.

Hazmat

The Arlington Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT) was established in 1988 and operates from Fire Station 6, which houses Engine 6, Quint 6, HazMat 6, and Utility 6. The team's mission is to safely mitigate hazardous material releases or potential releases, prioritizing the safety of personnel, citizens, and environmental protection.

The HMRT consists of specially trained personnel who address hazardous material incidents and is also the primary response unit for the Weapons of Mass Destruction Domestic Terrorism program. They identify harmful agents, assist in sample collection, and manage mass decontamination efforts in collaboration with the Fire-Rescue Division.

In addition to handling hazardous material incidents, Station 6 members are also involved in other emergency response areas, including:

• Firefighting
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) incidents
• Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVCs)
• Technical rescue operations
• Public education
• Community Services

Swift Water Rescue/Dive Team

The purpose of the Swift Water Rescue/Dive Team is to conduct swift water rescues, dive rescues, recoveries and educating the general public on water emergencies.

The SWR/Dive Team operates out of Fire Station 7. The members of the team are also responsible for traditional Fire Service duties; they respond to fires, EMS, MVCs, and various other types of calls for service. Our crews take part in several water related public awareness programs. Every summer we go to community pools and give pool safety programs to residents present. We also work in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for vessel safety inspections, where we provide a free service to boaters at the various boat ramps in the city. In addition to these services, our team provides a standby for lake events such as the Arlington Regatta and the Cardboard Boat Regatta.

Technical Rescue Team

The Arlington Fire Department is committed to providing its citizens and visitors with emergency response for a variety of circumstances. As part of that goal, the members of Fire Station 8 have been trained to provide Technical Rescue response for the following specialized incidents: Rope Rescue, Trench Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, and Structural Collapse Rescue.

Rope Rescue events occur when a rescue must be affected either above or below ground level and requires the use of ropes to reach and extract the victim. Trench Rescue events occur when a person is trapped below ground by dirt or rock of a collapsed trench. Confined Space events are rescues of persons trapped in small enclosed areas with limited access. The final specialized discipline conducted by Station 8 personnel is Structural Collapse Rescue; these events occur when structures collapse, thereby trapping persons inside the building.

Each of these technical rescue disciplines requires a commitment to ongoing continued education and training by each member of the team along with specialized equipment. The members of Fire Station 8 are proud to provide these services along with their regular emergency medical and fire duties to the citizens and visitors of Arlington.

Gas Well Response Team

The Gas Well Response Teams (GWRT) operates out of Fire Station 1 and Fire Station 9. The primary focus of the GWRT, in cooperation with Fire Prevention, is to provide oversight and mitigation efforts to the gas well industry in Arlington and surrounding communities via mutual aid requests. The inception of this program created a cooperative effort with the gas well companies, TCEQ, Fire Prevention and the Gas Well Response Team. These collective efforts are creating a safer living environment for the citizens and visitors of Arlington. The purpose of the program and response team is to provide highly trained AFD members with specialized training and equipment to respond to Gas Well and Pipeline emergency incidents. This training is used almost daily during our pre-planning efforts, site compliance inspections, and during our emergency responses to unintentional gas releases (washouts), odor investigations, and other 911 calls for service at or near gas well sites. Each of our team members was trained by leading professionals in the Texas oil and gas well control and emergency response industry at a state of the art facility in Richmond, Texas.

ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting)

The Arlington Fire Department's ARFF team operates out of Fire Station 12. Fire Rescue provides ARFF coverage to Arlington Municipal airport and as a tactical reserve to support Hazardous Materials incidents on the cities many Interstates and Highways. ARFF 12 provides an increased protection option to the Arlington Municipal airport when air traffic increases monthly due to the cities multiple large venues throughout the year.

TIFMAS (Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System)

Fire Rescue supports three teams for responding to TIFMAS requests from our state or other states in need of assistance in battling wildland, forest fires across the Nation. The teams consist of members from across our department.