Meeting the emergency needs of HRM's 385,500 residents is our #1 priority. Once that page comes in we must get enough resources on the road to handle the emergency efficiently and safely.

We respond to over 11,800 calls annually. Typical responses include fires, emergency medical responses, vehicle accidents, rescues. We also have Specialized Teams for more unusual incidents.

In addition, the Operations Division takes an active role in Fire Prevention & Public Education. Some of these activities include the Annual Home Inspection and the Alarmed & Ready Programs.

The more densely populated urban "core" areas have 18 stations which are staffed by full crews around the clock, seven days a week. Career Firefighters are divided into four platoons which work rotating 24 hour shifts.

Each platoon is led by a Platoon Chief who performs various management functions and acts as Incident Commander at serious calls.  

The Platoon also has a District Captain whose duties include assisting the PC with coordinating training activities of individual stations during a shift through a daily planner. He also responds to structure fires and other serious calls and assumes the role of Safety Officer.

At the station level, each station has a Captain or Lieutenant assigned as supervisor. They ensure standards are met, plan daily training and other shift activities, and perform command functions at emergency scenes.

Stations in Bedford, Cole Harbour, Eastern Passage, Lakeside, Sackville, Westphal also have Volunteer Firefighters assigned. They have their own assigned apparatus (fire truck) and take over coverage of their community when the Career Crew is paged out.

In less populated suburban areas, Career Firefighters are on day shifts, Monday to Friday (except holidays), and Volunteer Firefighters assume full responsibility for protecting their communities the rest of the time.

Stations in the more rural areas are completely Volunteer. These stations are supervised by a Volunteer Chief, Deputy Chief and Volunteer Officers.

With the "boundaries" of individual rural Departments of years ago now gone, multi-station response is common on serious calls. Depending on location, personnel from two or more stations may be immediately dispatched to ensure adequate Firefighters and equipment to handle serious emergencies.