Municipal fire department · Florida · United States

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) is a county-level fire department covering most of Miami-Dade County, Florida — roughly 1.9 million residents across about 2,000 square miles, with the exception of a handful of cities that maintain their own departments. MDFR fields approximately 2,500 uniformed personnel from over 70 fire stations and is one of the largest county fire-rescue agencies in the United States. The department provides structural and wildland fire suppression, advanced life support emergency medical service (every operational firefighter is at least EMT-certified and many are paramedics), technical rescue, hazardous materials response, ocean rescue support, and an internationally deployable Urban Search and Rescue team (Florida Task Force 1). Firefighter recruitment runs through Miami-Dade County Human Resources. The path typically includes a written examination, the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), Florida EMT certification (often a prerequisite or co-requisite), medical and psychological evaluation, and a thorough background investigation. Successful candidates attend the MDFR Training Bureau for a recruit course covering structural and high-rise firefighting, EMT/paramedic practice, technical rescue, and hazardous materials. Application openings are announced on the official MDFR recruitment page — confirm current status there. Bluewatch is a directory and links to the official portal.