san diego fire-rescue department san diego fire-rescue department the san diego fire-rescue department (sdfd) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of san diego, california, united states. the san diego fire-rescue department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the state of california, after los angeles and responds to nearly 130,000 calls per year. san diego fire-rescue department (sdfd)"dedicated to our citizens, our members, and our profession"operational areacountry united statesstate californiacity san diegoagency overviewestablishedaugust 5, 1889annual calls129,880(2014)employees1,256annual budget$308,695,006 (fy 2022)staffingcareerfire chiefcolin stowellems levelals & blsiaff145facilities and equipmentdivisions1battalions7stations52 and 5 specialty stationsengines50 - front line32 - reservetrucks13 - front line9 - reservesquads2rescues5 airport crash rescue rigs, 2 us&r rigsambulances39 contracted als unitstenders3hazmat3usar2wildland11 - type 3helicopters3fireboats4websitewww.sandiego.gov/fire/www.sdfire.org organization the san diego fire-rescue department is divided into two major divisions: emergency operations and support services. each of these divisions are commanded by an assistant chief who oversees several subdivisions. helicopters in the summer of 2002, the sdfd acquired a bell 212hp with a 375 u.s. gallons (1,420 l) water capacity. in 2005, the department acquired a bell 412ep for their fleet. in late 2018, the department put a sikorsky s-70i firehawk into service. the three helicopters are known by their call signs copter 1, copter 2, and copter 3, respectively. they are most commonly used during wildfires for helitack. they can also be used as air ambulances to lift injured personnel. the council approved using bond revenues to fund a $13.7 million hangar for its helicopters that will include living and office space. the facility will be built at montgomery-gibbs executive airport. operations the san diego fire-rescue department operates out of 52 fire stations, located throughout the city, organized into seven battalions. each battalion is commanded by a battalion chief. the san diego fire-rescue department also operates 25 lifeguard stations, nine of which are permanently staffed. sdfd recently purchased many new pierce pumpers and 4 new pierce arrow xt tractor drawn aerials. trucks 1 and 35 are already in service. the next two are expected to go to truck 21 and truck 12. sdfd engine 28 responding to a motor vehicle accident. pierce arrow xt truck 35, serving in university city sdfd fire station # 37there are two additional locations: there is an air operations base and an emergency command and dispatch center. location/name address apparatus air operations base john j. montgomery dr & aero dr copter 1, copter 2, copter 3, air operations 1, air operations 2, heli tender 2 emergency command & dispatch center kearny villa rd & aero dr communications 1 sdfd fire station # 38 sdfd fire station # 40 battalion 1 battalion 1 is responsible for the following fire stations: 1,2,3,4,7,11 and the arff station at san diego airport. battalion 1 is headquartered at fire station 2. fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit other units 1 1222 first ave.engine 1, engine 201truck 1medic 1light & air 1, x-ray 1, chemical 1, usar utility 1, utility 81, mobile canteen 1, mast captain, mast engineer 2 825 west cedar st.engine 2battalion chief 1, usar 2 3 725 west kalmia st.engine 3 4 404 8th ave.engine 4 7 944 cesar e. chavez pkwy.engine 7 11 945 25th st.engine 11truck 11medic 11 arff station (san) 3698 pacific hwy.crash 1, crash 2, crash 3, crash 5 battalion 2 battalion 2 is responsible for the following fire stations: 5,8,14,18,23,28 and 36. battalion 2 is headquartered at fire station 5. fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit brush unit other units 5 3902 9th ave.engine 5oes brush engine 6307battalion chief 2 8 3974 goldfinch st.engine 8 14 4011 32nd st.engine 14truck 14brush 14shift commander 1 18 4676 felton st.engine 18medic 18oes engine 6119 23 2190 comstock st.engine 23medic 23utility 82 28 3880 kearny villa rd.engine 28truck 28medic 28crash 28, foam 28, water tender 28 36 5855 chateau dr.engine 36medic 36, medic 236 battalion 3 battalion 3 is responsible for the following fire stations: 15,20,21,22,25 and 27. battalion 3 is headquartered at fire station 25. fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit other units 15 4711 voltaire st.engine 15utility 83 20 3305 kemper st.engine 20truck 20medic 20utility 20 21 750 grand ave.engine 21truck 21medic 21 22 1055 catalina blvd.engine 22medic 22 25 1972 chicago st.engine 25battalion chief 3 27 5064 clairemont dr.engine 27 battalion 4 battalion 4 is responsible for the following fire stations: 10,17,26,31,34,39 and 45. battalion 4 is headquartered at fire station 45. fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit brush unit other units 10 4605 62nd st.engine 10truck 10brush 10chemical 10 17 4206 chamoune ave.engine 17medic 17 26 2850 54th st.engine 26medic 26 31 6002 camino ricoengine 31medic 31mobile canteen 2 34 6565 cowles mountain blvd.engine 34brush 34 39 4949 la cuenta dr.engine 39medic 39 45 9366 friars rd.engine 45truck 45battalion chief 4, hazmat 1, hazmat 2, ert 1, oes hazmat 61 battalion 5 battalion 5 is responsible for the following fire stations: 9,13,16,24,35,41,47 and 50. battalion 5 is headquartered at fire station 50. fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit brush unit other units 9 7870 ardath ln.engine 9medic 9udc trailer (unified disaster counsel), mod squad (mobile operations detail) 13 809 nautilus stengine 13 16 2110 via casa altaengine 16 24 13077 hartfield ave.engine 24medic 24brush 24 35 4285 eastgate mallengine 35truck 35medic 35brush 35utility 85 41 4914 carroll canyon rd.engine 41medic 41usar 41, usar utility 47 6041 edgewood court bendengine 47 50 7177 shoreline dr.engine 50medic 50battalion chief 5, falck medic supervisor 72 battalion 6 battalion 6 is responsible for the following fire stations: 6,12,19,29,30,32,43,51 and 55. battalion 6 is headquartered at fire station 12. fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit brush unit other units 6 693 twining ave.engine 6 12 4964 imperial ave.engine 12truck 12medic 12brush 12battalion chief 6, utility 86 19 3434 ocean view blvd.engine 19medic 19water tender 19 29 198 w. san ysidro blvd.engine 29truck 29medic 29brush 29 30 2265 coronado ave.engine 30medic 30 32 484 briarwood rd.engine 32medic 32 43 1590 la media rd.engine 43medic 43, medic 243brush 43heli tender 1, san diego county fd truck 38 (temporary relocation) 51 7180 skyline dr.engine 51medic 51 squad 55 6135 imperial ave.squad 55 battalion 7 battalion 7 is responsible for the following fire stations: 33,37,38,40,42,44,46 and 57. battalion 7 is headquartered at fire station 44 fire station number address engine company truck company medic unit oes unit or brush unit other units 33 16966 bernardo center dr.engine 33medic 33oes brush engine 6301 37 11640 spring canyon rd.engine 37medic 37brush 37falck medic supervisor 71 38 8441 new salem st.engine 38medic 38 40 13393 salmon river rd.engine 40truck 40medic 40brush 40light & air 40, water tender 40, utility 40 42 12110 world trade dr.engine 42medic 42 44 10011 black mountain rd.engine 44truck 44medic 44, medic 244brush 44battalion chief 7, utility 87 46 14556 lazanja dr.engine 46 squad 57 17701 san pasqual valley rd.squad 57 low staffing issues san diego engine company the san diego fire department is somewhat understaffed compared to comparable fire departments. for example, the fire department has about one firefighter per 1469 residents, compared to one fire fighter per 421 residents in san francisco. in comparison with other major cities with populations over 1 million, such as los angeles, the starting pay for a city of san diego fire fighter is around $80,000.