Municipal fire department · California · United States

San Francisco Fire Department

The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) protects the City and County of San Francisco — approximately 800,000 residents across 47 square miles of dense urban and waterfront terrain, plus San Francisco International Airport (where SFFD operates the dedicated ARFF division). The department fields roughly 1,800 uniformed members from 44 firehouses, including two fireboat stations covering the bay and port. SFFD provides structural fire suppression, advanced life support ambulance service (the department absorbed San Francisco's municipal EMS in 1997), technical rescue, marine response, and aircraft rescue and firefighting. Seismic risk is a defining feature of the department's planning, and SFFD maintains an extensive Auxiliary Water Supply System inherited from post-1906-earthquake reconstruction, including high-pressure mains, cisterns, and saltwater pumping stations along the bay. Recruitment is administered by the San Francisco Department of Human Resources via the H-2 firefighter civil service examination. The process includes a written exam, the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), medical and psychological screening, and background investigation. Successful candidates attend the SFFD Training Division for a recruit academy covering structural and high-rise firefighting, EMT certification, and technical rescue. Confirm current eligibility and exam windows on the official portal; Bluewatch is a directory.