Prior to , the following fire districts were in existence, covering the mostly unincorporated Palm Beach County: [ 3 ]. Named after the department's first fire chief, the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Administration and Training Complex is a acre complex that houses Fire-Rescue's administrative offices, training areas, and an apparatus and support building.
The department is made up of 8 battalions, which contain anywhere from three to nine fire stations:. Each battalion is managed by a district chief, who oversees all three shifts in their respective battalion. At the shift level, each battalion is supervised by a battalion chief and an EMS Captain. The department operates the following pieces of apparatus: [ 7 ]. The department is responsible for 1, square miles 4, km 2 , providing services to almost , residents throughout the county.
The department's daily minimum staffing requirement is firefighters. Apparatus Types: [ 10 ]. The department has two Special Operations apparatus located at stations 19 and These multipurpose units function as Heavy Rescues , Hazmat units , and Mobile Command Centers on extended operations. All Ladder and Truck companies are Quints that incorporate ladder capabilities along with pumper functions.
These aerials carry Rope Rescue equipment, a large complement of saws, vehicle stabilization equipment, air lift bags, and assorted pneumatic and electrical tools that are not carried by Engine companies.
All personnel assigned full-time to aerial stations are certified at a minimum in Rope Rescue operations and Aerial operations. Aside from Special Operations , these are the only 2 stations in the department with regional Dive Rescue teams. The station , which is located near the center of the airport grounds, is home to 13 pieces of specialized firefighting equipment.
