![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Operational area | |
---|---|
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
City | Reading |
Agency overview[1][2][3] | |
Established | March 17, 1773 |
Annual calls | 30,660 (2019) |
Employees | 137 (2019) |
Annual budget | $19,600,000 (2019) |
Staffing | Career |
Fire chief | James Stoudt Jr. |
IAFF | 1803 |
Facilities and equipment[4] | |
Battalions | 1 |
Stations | 7 |
Engines | 5 |
Tillers | 2 |
Platforms | 1 |
Rescues | 1 |
Ambulances | 4 |
Wildland | 1 |
Rescue boats | 1 |
Website | |
Official website |
The Reading Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Reading, Pennsylvania.[5] The department is responsible for approximately 10 square miles (26 km2) with a population of just under 100,000 as of the 2020 United States Census Bureau estimate[update].[6]
The Reading Fire Department was formed on March 17, 1773, as a volunteer fire department known as the Rainbow Volunteer Fire Company.[7] By 1914 the department had grown to include 14 separate volunteer companies. Today, the department operates out of 7 fire stations, including 1 EMS Station.
Beginning in April 2011 Engines 13 and 14 were disbanded due to budget cuts.[8] Starting June 30, 2015 the city will also be disbanding its non-emergency transport division which had been available to assist in transporting those confined to a wheeled chair.[9]
As of January 1, 2016, the department is now a fully career department.[citation needed]
As of February 12, 2020 the volunteer SCUBA team has been disbanded.
As of October 2019[update], below is a complete list of the stations and apparatus. Staffing is only two (2) firefighters per apparatus.[4]
Engine Company | Ladder Company | Special Unit | Spare/ Reserve Unit | Chief Unit | Neighborhood |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engine 1 | Engine 6 | Center City | |||
Engine 3 | Ladder 1(Tiller) | Brush 1 | Engine 4 | 1st Deputy Chief | Central West |
Engine 5 | Engine 8, Ladder 2(Tiller) | 18th Ward | |||
Engine 9 | Ladder 3(Tiller) | Northeast | |||
Engine 7 | Foam Trailer, MCI (Mass Casualty Incident) Trailer, Rescue Boat(Zodiac) | Engine 10 | Northwest | ||
Tower Ladder 1 | Rescue 1 | Engine 2 | 2nd Deputy Chief | South Central | |
Medic 1, Medic 2, Medic 3, Medic 4 | Medic 5, Medic 6, Medic 7, Medic 8 | Center City |