Administration and support

The Fire Chief is the highest ranking administrative officer in the Iowa City Fire Department and is the administrator of all activities the Iowa City Fire Department carries out.

The Deputy Fire Chief provides direct administrative and/or emergency operations oversight and serves on the senior management team.

The Battalion Chief assigned to Administration and Support shall be responsible for buildings, grounds, calendar administration, the Health & Safety Committee, weather alert sirens, physicals and immunizations, and other duties as assigned.

Emergency Operations

The Emergency Operations Division provides high quality emergency services to the community. The menu of emergency services includes four general categories: fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, and technical rescue. The range of technical rescue includes auto and machinery extrications, confined space rescue, trench and building collapse, high-angle rope rescue, and water and ice rescue. Emergency operations also include many non-emergency services, such as carbon monoxide investigations, smoke and odor investigations, and miscellaneous requests for public assistance.

Fire suppression

Fighting fire has always been, and continues to be, a high-profile activity. While the actual number of fires continues to decline, firefighting activities typically require more resources (personnel, equipment, etc.) than any other type of emergency. Obviously, fires also have a greater potential to harm people and property than other emergencies.

Emergency medical services

The most frequent emergency call continues to be for emergency medical services (EMS). All firefighters are trained and certified as Emergency Medical Technicians - Basic (EMT-B). Because fire stations are located throughout the city, firefighters can usually arrive at the scene of a medical emergency first and provide basic life support until arrival of advanced life support provided by Johnson County Ambulance Service.

Hazardous materials response

Hazardous materials response continues to be an important part of ICFD service delivery, providing two levels of service to the public. Personnel are certified to the OSHA Operations level, which allows them to respond to minor spills, i.e. gasoline, antifreeze, etc.

Technical rescue

Technical rescue includes those incidents where a successful operation requires rescuer(s) to employ special knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques. In comparison to firefighting, which generally requires large numbers of personnel, technical rescue requires fewer personnel, but a great deal of specialized equipment and intensive training.