The Denver Fire Department provides

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

and first responder

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

to the city of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. The department is responsible for an area of with a population estimated at 690,000. The Denver Fire Department also provides fire protection to the citizens of Glendale, Sheridan, Skyline and Englewood.

General Rank structure

History

The Denver Fire Department got its start on March 25, 1866 when a

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respon ...

was organized. Known as ''Volunteer Hook and Ladder Co. #1'', the company was the first in the

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...

Stations and apparatus

, the Denver Fire Department operates out of 39

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ...

s (including 5 Airport Stations), located throughout the city in 7 Districts, each under the command of a District Chief.

Notable Incidents

United Airlines Flight 859

In July 1961, United Airlines Flight 859 crashed during landing at the now defunct

Stapleton International Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado, from 1929 to 1995. It was a hub for Continental Airlines, the original Frontier Airlines, People Express, United ...

. The aircraft, a

Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July ...

airliner, slammed into several airport vehicles, including construction equipment, and caught fire, killing 18 (including one on the ground) and injuring 84 from a total of 122 people on board. This incident sparked the need for the DFD to place foam engines at the airport.

Continental Airlines Flight 1713

On November 15, 1987, a

Douglas DC-9-14 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

Continental Airlines Flight 1713 Continental Airlines Flight 1713 was a commercial airline flight that crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, on The Douglas DC-9 airliner, operated by Continental Airlines, was making a ...

crashed while taking off in a snowstorm from

. Twenty-five passengers and three crew members died in the crash.

Continental Airlines Flight 1404

On December 20, 2008,

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...

Flight 1404 from

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport i ...

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 5 ...

crashed while taking off from Denver resulting in 2 critical injuries, 36 non-critical injuries and a

hull loss A hull loss is an aviation accident that catastrophically damages the aircraft beyond economical repair, resulting in a total loss. The term also applies to situations in which the aircraft is missing, the search for their wreckage is terminated ...

of the Boeing 737-524 aircraft.

References

External links

Denver Firefighters Museum
{{coord, 39.7392, -104.9850, dim:300000_region:region:US-CO_type:city, name=City and County of Denver, display=title Government of Denver Fire departments in Colorado 1866 establishments in Colorado Territory