The East Providence Fire Department is a full-time career department that protects some 50,000 residents in an area of 16.5 square miles. The main operating frequency is 470.7625 mgh, and the fire-ground frequency is 470.5870, under the FCC identification of KCB 723.
The city borders the City of Pawtucket, RI to the north, Town of Barrington, RI to the south, Town of Seekonk, MA to the east, and the Capital City of Providence, RI to the west. The department has a Class 3 ISO rating responded to 11,451 incidents in 2010.
The department was organized in 1875, with the first paid members starting in 1911. The department never used horse drawn equipment, making the transition directly from hand-pulled to motorized apparatus. The department grew to 135 members in the late 1960's, and has since been scaled back to the present day 120 members.
The department is led by a 25 year veteran of the department, Chief Joseph J. Klucznik, who was appointed on July 1, 2006. The department is divided into two divisions; staff and line. Staff personnel include the Chief of Department, 1 Administrative Assistant, 2 Fire Prevention Officers, 2 Training & Safety Officers, 1 Emergency Medical Services Coordinator, 1 Fire Alarm Inspector, 1 Fire Prevention Secretary and 1 Office Assistant.
Line personnel operate four groups, with each group rotating through a 48 hour work week of two ten-hour days, two fourteen-hour nights, followed by four days off. Each group is commanded by a Battalion Chief, with a minimum on-duty strength of 26 personnel. At full strength the department employs 120 personnel. All members of the department, with the exception of the Chief of the Department, are members of Local 850, International Association of Firefighters.
All Personnel are certified; NFPA 1001 Firefighter I & II, Hazardous Materials Operations level, and Emergency Medical Technician - Cardiac or Basic level. All Fire Officers are certified NFPA 1021 Fire Officer level I. The department operates a State Hazardous Materials Response Team and a Department Technical Rescue Team. The department is the first in the state to operate a mobile Hazardous Material Response Truck; Haz-Mat 1.
The department has 4 stations, housing 5 Engine Companies, 2 Ladder Companies , 3 ALS Rescues, 1 Special Hazards (Heavy Rescue), 1 Hazardous Materials Truck and Battalion 1. The department also maintains 2 Engine Companies and 3 ALS Rescues in reserve status. The Special Hazards and Hazardous Materials Companies are manned by members of Stations 1 & 3 as tag-along pieces. All Engine and Ladder Companies carry Automatic External Defibrillators and are certified as ALS response units. Each Engine Company and Ladder Company is equipped with a thermal imaging camera.
Manning on the apparatus is as follows: Engine Companies: 1 Officer and 2 Firefighters. Ladder Companies: 1 Officer and 1 Firefighter. Rescue Companies: 2 Firefighter EMT-Cardiacs.
Three Fire / Rescue Marine Units, Zodiac 1, Zodiac 2 and Marine 3, are staffed by Engine and/or Ladder Company personnel and protect 14.4 miles of shore line along the upper Narragansett Bay, Seekonk, and Providence Rivers. Zodiacs 1 & 2 are 16' inflatable boats located at Stations 2 & 3 and Marine 3 is a 34' fire/rescue boat docked year round at bold point. Marine 3 is one of four Marine Units that make up the Port of Providence Marine Strike Team.
These fire and rescue companies provide protection to a diverse mix of residential, commercial and industrial occupancies, including 40 School & Day Care centers, 28 Churches, 16 Group Homes, 13 Nursing Homes, 9 High-Rise Apartment Buildings, 1 Childrens Hospital, and 2 Petrolium Storage Facilities; ExxonMobil and Capital Terminal Company .
The city is also home to WPRI TV Channel 12, a Fox affiliated broadcasting station.
DEPARTMENT PROFILE
