What is a company?

NFPA 1710 provides guidelines on the number of personnel required to staff a fire department. It further requires that these personnel be “organized into company units”. When we have our personnel, we then must organize them.  But what is a “company unit”?

I first learned of a fire company from the IFSTA Essentials of Firefighter, 4th edition. This basic fire academy curriculum defined a fire company as “the standard operating unit of a fire department...a group of firefighters assigned to a particular piece of apparatus or to a particular station. A company consists of a company officer, a driver/operator, and one or more firefighters.”

Essentials provides a great general definition. However, NFPA 1710, more clearly defines what a fire company is. A company is a group of fire department members who:

1. Are under direct supervision of an officer
2. Are trained and equipped to perform assigned tasks
3. Operate with one piece of fire apparatus, or multiple apparatus assigned and dispatched together, and under control of a single fire officer
4. Arrive at the incident scene on fire apparatus

These fire companies must be organized and identified. Companies are organized by task and are commonly identified as: 

• Engine company
• Ladder company
• Rescue company
• Squad company
• Multi-functional company

Chapter 5 of NFPA 1710 defines the makeup of each of these company types. This section also requires that “each company shall be lead by an officer”. 

Engine Companies. Responsible to pump and deliver water, and perform basic firefighter functions.  Staffed with a minimum of four on-duty personnel. More personnel may be required based on call volume or high hazard target areas, up to six on-duty personnel.

Ladder Companies. Responsible for forcible entry, ventilation, search and rescue, overhaul and salvage, and a variety of other truck work. Staffed with a minimum of four on-duty personnel. More personnel may be required based on call volume or high hazard target areas, up to six on-duty personnel.

Other Companies. Provide specialized equipment and apparatus to assist engine and ladder companies. These are provided and staffed in accordance with the risk/hazard analysis as required by the AHJ and department SOP’s.

Related Posts:

• How Many Firefighters Do You Need?
• Career, Combination, or Volunteer?
• Seven Response Objectives for Fire Departments
• Staffing for ARFF Departments
• Four Components of a Service Delivery Evaluation