What We Do

What We Do

Roanoke Fire-EMS is a full-service fire and emergency medical service agency providing basic and advanced pre-hospital life support, fire prevention and education programs, fire suppression services, arson detection, vehicle extrication, and tactical heavy rescue. It also supports a regional hazardous materials team. In addition to housing firefighting and EMS personnel and apparatus, fire-EMS stations are neighborhood resources. Fire-EMS personnel at these sites help distribute important city documents, teach children about fire safety, and provide a safe place for lost children and adults. Six of our stations are official polling places for all city elections.

Our department operates 12 fire engines, four aerial ladder trucks, eight ambulances, three command vehicles and airport rescue firefighting seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Firefighter/EMTs operate out of 13 stations with 16 pieces of front-line fire apparatus, seven front-line EMS units, one medium-squad and one HazMat unit. We serve a resident population of 94,911 in an area of 43 square miles, and answer 3,500 fire and 15,000 EMS runs annually.

Roanoke Fire-EMS holds a Class 2 rating from the Insurance Service Organization, the highest rating given to a Virginia fire department, and one of only five such ratings awarded in the state. This rating helps our community by bringing lower insurance rates to homeowners and businesses.

We invite you to stop by any of our stations any time to learn more about what we do!