thumb|upright=1.5|Streets of New York (1869) Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with buckets. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
As cities grew this method became unreliable, and the first professional fire department was established in Cincinnati in 1853. By the 20th century fire departments were forced to adapt to more modern hazards and dangers, such as high rise and hazardous material fires. They also began to expand their services to include other, non-fire, public safety needs including vehicle rescue and EMS service. As of 2018, 62% of fire departments offered some form of emergency medical response.
Firefighters in the United States today are organized along paramilitary lines, and are most often grouped into city or county departments. They utilize modern equipment. Professional fire departments protect 68% of the US population, with a total of 1,216,600 firefighters serving in 27,228 fire departments nationwide and responding to emergencies from 58,150 fire stations. Union firefighters are represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). The New York City Fire Department is the largest in the United States.
Overview
A fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds throughout the United States. Fire departments responded to 33,602,500 calls for service in 2015. 21,500,000 were for medical help, 2,533,500 were false alarms, and 1,345,500 were for actual fires.
Since at least 1980, calls for fires have decreased as a proportion of total calls and in absolute numbers from 3,000,000 to 1,400,000 in 2011, while in the same period medical calls have increased from 5,000,000 to 19,800,000. While some medical calls are dealt with only by ambulances, it is common for fire engines to respond to them as well.
The professionalization of American firefighting was largely a result of three factors: the steam fire engines, the fire insurance companies, that demanded the municipalization of firefighting, and the theory that suggested payment of wages would naturally result in improved service. Paid firefighters may be union or non-union. Union American firefighters are represented and united in the International Association of Fire Fighters with headquarters in Washington, D.C. However, many municipalities still rely on volunteer, paid on call, or part-time firefighters. These non full-time firefighters are rarely union, and their interests are represented by the National Volunteer Fire Council.
The United States Fire Administration provides national leadership to local fire services. The fire departments report fires and other incidents according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, which maintains records of the incidents in a uniform manner. The National Fire Protection Association sets and maintains minimum standards and requirements for firefighting duties and equipment. The suppression of wildfires is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This is done through the National Wildland Coordination Center.