There are three main types of emergency responder at the Longwood Fire Company, although many of our members are cross-trained and fall into more than one category.

These are our firefighters.  They respond to any emergency involving fire or where any type of rescue is involved.  On the fire scene, they are responsible for the extinguishment of the fire in an attempt to save lives and property.  This may or may not involve entering a burning structure.  During rescues, they work to remove patients from unsafe situations such as entrapment in an automobile, and to stabilize their injuries.  At a minimum, LFC prefers its firefighters to obtain the 140- hour National Firefighter I and the 48-hour Vehicle Rescue Technician certifications.  Most of our firefighters take additional training classes to further their knowledge and skills.  Fire/Rescue volunteers are also encouraged to attend as many of our three-hour in-house weekly trainings as possible. 

LFC’s Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) staff our ambulances.  While we do employ career EMS staff 24-7, we rely on our volunteers to staff our basic life support ambulance during the nighttime hours to free our career employees to take the advanced life support calls.  Volunteer EMTs may also respond during the day with the paid staff.  EMTs are required to obtain the 160-hour EMT-Basic certification.  Although many of our firefighters are also EMTs, we have some members who are solely interested in EMS.

Fire Police are responsible for providing traffic control and scene security at emergency incidents.  These are the responders most commonly seen at car accidents diverting traffic to ensure the safety of the fire/rescue and EMS personnel, as well as the people involved in the accident.  Fire Police respond to all of our fire/rescue calls to provide their valuable assistance.  They are also called upon to provide non-emergency traffic control at events such as parades.