Municipal fire department · Virginia · United States

Norfolk Fire-Rescue

About NFR

Norfolk Fire-Rescue (NFR) protects the City of Norfolk — approximately 235,000 residents across roughly 55 square miles on the southern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia, an anchor city of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. Norfolk hosts the world's largest naval base (Naval Station Norfolk, primarily covered by a separate Federal Fire Department) and a substantial port and shipbuilding industry, and the city itself contains a dense historic downtown core, multiple medical centres, and extensive waterfront. NFR fields about 510 uniformed members from 14 fire stations and operates an all-hazards model: structural fire suppression, advanced life support emergency medical service (NFR provides primary 911 ambulance transport within the city under a city-run model), technical rescue, hazardous materials response, marine firefighting and water rescue (the department covers the harbor and intracoastal frontage outside the federally-controlled installations), and arson investigation. Hurricane and tropical-storm response is a recurring feature of operations. Firefighter recruitment is administered by the City of Norfolk Department of Human Resources. The process typically includes a written examination, CPAT, oral interview, medical and psychological evaluation, and background investigation. Virginia EMT certification is required. Bluewatch links to the City of Norfolk careers portal.

Service at a glance

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Last updated 20 May 2026