A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Established | May 9, 1942 |
| Employees | 900 uniformed 264 civilian |
| Staffing | Career |
| Fire chief | Marcos Concepción Tirado |
| EMS level | BLS |
| Motto | Willpower and Sacrifice |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 96 |
| Engines | 140 |
| Trucks | 5 ladders 1 tower |
| Squads | 44 |
| Rescues | 4 |
| Fireboats | 1 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Puerto Rico Firefighters Corps (PRFC); is the statewide fire department that provides fire protection, rescue, and protection from other hazards in the U.S. Estado Asociado Libre of Puerto Rico. It was established in 1942 under the Puerto Rico Fire Services. In addition, it offers fire protection services to all the airports under the authority of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, Rafael Hernández Airport, and Mercedita Airport and they serve as crash rescue divisions. A separate agency, the Puerto Rico Medical Emergency Corps, provides emergency medical services to all Puerto Rico.
History
Puerto Rico firefighters have their origins in the southern town of Ponce. In 1823, Spanish Governor Miguel De La Torre, became deeply concerned by a large fire that occurred in Ponce, on February 27, 1820. This fire almost destroyed the town. As a result, it became mandatory for every male between 16 and 60 years to be a volunteer firefighter. Firefighters at this time had to provide their own fire-fighting tools such as picks, shovels, and buckets. Unfortunately, this first fire corps saw its decline once Governor De La Torre left his post.
Another major fire occurred in the Playa de Ponce sector of Ponce in 1845. This moved the Conde de Marisol, ruler of the island at that time, to create a new voluntary fire-fighting organization. In 1862, under the auspices of the mayor of Ponce, Luis Quijano Font, the fire corps was reorganized as The Fire Services and Thomas Cladellas was appointed Fire Chief.
In 1879, the Fire Services reorganized again, this time under the leadership of Ponce architect Juan Bertoly. Finally, Puerto Rico's fire fighting force reorganized in a more permanent manner in 1883 while Maximum Meana was mayor of Ponce. It consisted of 400 firefighters. Its officers were Julio Steinacher, Juan Seix (Senior Chief), Oscar Schuch Oliver (Second Chief), and Fernando M. Toro (Head Brigade and Charge of the Academy of Gymnastics).
On January 25, 1899, Pedro Sabater and Rafael Rivera Esbri, were among a group of firefighters fighting a fire in the U.S. powder magazine barracks, near today's Ponce High School in downtown Ponce. There were stored at that location large quantities of bullets, ammunition, and gunpowder. Had the fire reached this munition depot, it would have surely destroyed the whole town. These heroes saved the lives of many people and saved the town of a conflagration.
In 1918, the Mayoral brothers built the first motorized pump in Puerto Rico, using the chassis of a Pope Hartford. In 1930, Raul Gándara joined the Ponce Fire Service as Lieutenant; he would later become Puerto Rico's first Fire Chief.
Island-wide fire services
In 1942, the Puerto Rico Legislature passed Act #58 of May 9, 1942, also known as "The Fire Service of Puerto Rico Act", in which the Puerto Rico Insular Fire Services was created. The governor of the island at the time, Rexford Guy Towell selected Raul Gandara as fire chief. Mr. Gandara was, at the time, captain of the Ponce Fire Corps.
Later, in 1953, it was called the Puerto Rico Fire Services, because of the new formed Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. By that time, they were using Mack trucks bought from the United States, specialized for fire extinguishing. On December 9, 1993, Law #58 was amended and it was called until this day as the "Cuerpo de Bomberos de Puerto Rico". On May 12, 2010, Carmen I. Rodriguez Diaz became the first woman in the history of the Cuerpo de Bomberos to become Chief of the CBPR.
Division/Bureaus
The CBPR is divided into different businesses and divisions to get a provide more effective fire protection coverage for the communities. These are:
Fire Extinction Bureau
This program provides firefighting, rescue and emergency and disaster situations, protection from natural disasters and coordinates interaction with other agencies in operations. It also handles emergency calls in situations of accidents, disasters and hazardous materials spill.
As a secondary responsibility to attend the Fire Prevention program acting as a preventive nature, as is the education of young people of school age, "Bomberito" program, guidance on areas and sites of assembly and inspection and elimination of fire hazards and research to determine the origin and causes of these. The 9-1-1 Emergency System, which centralizes emergency calls and faster response to the call of the community. It serves the people in general throughout the island.
Fire Prevention and Education
This program has the responsibility to develop and implement measures to eliminate fire hazards and educate the community about them. It is also responsible for inspecting industrial, commercial, commercial, institutional, residential, educational workshops, stores and meeting places to ensure compliance with the rules and basic requirements of fire prevention. Under Law 148 of 22 December 1994, empowering the charge for inspection services, reading and endorsement of plans as well as community education on preventive measures and use by the Fire Corps of proceeds.
Training Bureau
This program is responsible to train and retrain all members of the Fire Brigade in the latest techniques of fire suppression, prevention, rescue and first aid. This training and retraining program for firefighters and inspectors in the latest fighting techniques and fire prevention. Provides retraining for fire prevention officers and training of employees in private industry. And provides the latest fighting techniques and fire prevention to employees so they are prepared for any emergency.
General Management and Administration
This program is responsible for planning the work that will fulfill the public policy of the Fire Corps, provisions of its organic law, the Governor's executive orders and other mechanisms to safeguard life and property. It also establishes the procedures to provide management support to implement the planning process and implementation of operational activities of each program. Serves all employees of the Agency to other programs and other government agencies. This program provides accounting, budget, procurement, audit, general services, mail, human resources, information systems, legal, public relations and transportation. This program is located the office of Fire Chief. In establishing this public policy, manages and supports other operational program.
Special Operations Division
The "Division de Operaciones Especiales" (DOE) (Special Operations Division) is responsible for incidents that require specialized equipment or the emergency is one of critical levels for the population, such as large-scale fires, fuel spills or hazardous materials, landslides, searching for people in rubble, among others. All 6 Fire Corps zones have a Special Operations Division station. Your staff is chosen not only for their years of service, but also for their physical and mental. Every member is trained in fire and accident prevention, search for people in debris, use of specialized equipment, hazardous materials, among others.
Organization
The CBPR is divided in various areas. The management area consists of the divisions of Finance and Budget, Purchasing and Supply, Information Systems, Property, General Services and inactive files. The extinction area consists of six (6) areas and (12) twelve Districts. The area of Prevention consists of the Prevention Inspection divisions and Endorsements, Technical Drawings and Certifications, Fire Research and Education at the Community. These divisions are established within six (6) zones. In the Training Area is the Fire Academy and Fire Volunteers. CBPR chain of command is as follows:
- Fire Chief/Jefe de Bomberos
- Vice-Chief/Jefe Adjunto
- Battalion Commander (Chief of Operational Area)/Comandante del Batallón
- District Chief/Jefe del Distrito
- Station Captain/Estación Capitán
- Lieutenant/Teniente
- Sergeant/Sargento
- Firefighter/Bombero
Ranks
Firefighter
|
Sergeant
|
Lieutenant
|
Captain
|
District Chief
|
Division Chief/ Assistant Deputy Chief
|
Deputy Chief
|
Fire Chief
|
Operational areas
The Puerto Rico Fire Corps was reorganized in Puerto Rico through General Order 98–1. Under it there are six (6) operational areas located in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Carolina, Caguas, Ponce and San Juan. We also, with eleven (11) districts located in: San Juan, Bayamón, Carolina, Rio Piedras, Caguas, Humacao, Ponce, Guayama, Mayagüez, Aguadilla and Arecibo. The districts will respond to 91 fire stations island-wide are also considered additional District Special Operations Division, which performs functions such as fire-rescue and "First Response" with the ambulance service and medical emergencies.
Aguadilla
The Aguadilla Fire Corps area is composed of the districts of Aguadilla and Mayagüez. The district is composed of the stations Aguadilla, Ramey, Aguada, Añasco, San Sebastian, Moca, Rincon and Isabela. It also is composed of the fire divisions of the Ramey Regional Airport and the Aguadilla Special Operations Division or D.O.E. in Spanish. The Mayagüez fire district is composed of the stations of Mayagüez, Las Marias, Maricao, Hormigueros, Cabo Rojo, Boqueron, Lajas, Sabana Grande, San German and the Rosario neighborhood.
Aguadilla Fire District
| Firehouse | Engine Unit | Special Units | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aguadilla District/ D.O.E. | Engine 210 | Ladder Rescue R-55, Rescue R-54 | Severiano Cuevas Ave. #22 |
| Ramey | Engine 211 | #101 Cliff St. (Near Rafael Hernández Regional Airport) | |
| Aguada | Engine 212 | #104 Colón St. (PR-115), Downtown Aguada | |
| Rincon | Engine | Pedro Albizu Campos Ave. (PR-115 km 12.9) | |
| Moca | Engine 215 | Monseñor José Torres St. (Downtown Moca) | |
| Añasco | Engine 231 | Rescue 233 | PR-402 km. 0.0 Downtown Añasco |
| Isabela | Engine | Lorenzo Chico St. | |
| San Sebastian | Engine 216 | #907 Emérito Estrada Ave. |
Mayagüez Fire District
| Firehouse | Engine Unit | Special Units | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayagüez District | Engine 228, Engine 229 | Mini Engine, Pump Unit, First Response | #50 Nenadich Ave. Downtown Mayagüez |
| Las Marias | Engine | #101 Matías Brugman Ave. | |
| Maricao | Engine | PR-120 km. 22.2 | |
| Hormigueros | Engine | Segundo Ruiz Belvis St. Downtown Hormigueros | |
| Cabo Rojo | Engine | Barbosa St. (on the end) Downtown Cabo Rojo | |
| Boqueron | Engine 96 | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Fire Unit | PR-101 km. 18.6 (next to the PRPD station) |
| Lajas | Engine 243 | #25 Estación St. | |
| Sabana Grande | Engine 236 | #41 San Isidro St. | |
| San German | Engine 241 | Forest Unit | PR-2/ Castro Perez Ave. |
| Poblado Rosario | Engine | Forest Unit | Vicente Ramos Colón St. PR-348 km. 9.0 |
Arecibo
The Arecibo Fire Corps area is composed of the districts of Arecibo and Barceloneta. The district of Arecibo is composed of the stations Arecibo, Camuy, Castaner neighborhood, Lares, Hatillo, Angeles neighborhood, Utuado and Quebradillas. The Barceloneta Fire Corps district is composed of stations Barceloneta, Ciales, Florida, Manatí, Morovis and Vega Baja. It is also the operational area for D.O.E. located at the Barceloneta firehouse.
Arecibo Fire District
| Firehouse | Engine Unit | Special Units | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arecibo District | Engine 201 | Mini Engine, First Responder Unit, Pump Unit | #101 Hostos Ave. (Next to the PRPD regional station) |
| Camuy | Engine | Puente Neighborhood | |
| Castañer | Engine | Cooperativismo St, Lares | |
| Lares | Engine 217 | Ave. Los Patriotas (PR-111 km. 3.3) | |
| Hatillo | Engine 190 | #1000 Tulipán St.(In front of PR-2). | |
| Bayaney | Mini Engine | PR-129 km. 15.2, Hatillo | |
| Angeles | Engine | Branch Line PR-602 km 0.2, Utuado | |
| Utuado | Engine | Mini Engine | #29 Fernando L. Rivas Dominici Ave. (PR-602), Downtown Utuado |
| Quebradillas | Engine | #91 Socorro St. |
Barceloneta Fire District
| Firehouse | Engine Company | Special Units | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barceloneta District/ D.O.E. | Engine | Ladder Rescue R-45, Rescue R-46 | PR-2 km. 56.2 |
| Ciales | Engine | PR-145 km. 12.1, Jaguas neighborhood | |
| Florida | Engine | PR-140 km. 55.4 (Next to the PRPD station) | |
| Manatí | Engine | PR-670 km 2.7 Cotto Sur neighborhood (Next to the coliseum) | |
| Morovis | Engine | #10 Patron St. | |
| Vega Baja | Engine 194 | PR-2 km. 38.6 |
Caguas
The Caguas Fire Corps area is composed of the districts of Caguas and Humacao. The Fire Corps District of Caguas is composed of the stations Caguas, Gurabo, San Lorenzo, Cayey, Aibonito, Cidra and Aguas Buenas. Is also the district house for the Caguas D.O.E. area. The Fire Department District of Humacao is composed of stations Humacao, Buena Vista, Ceiba, Naguabo, Las Piedras, Yabucoa, Maunabo and Juncos.
Caguas Fire District
| Firehouse | Engine Unit | Special Units | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caguas District | Engine 121, Engine 122 | Rescue 123, Ladder 124, HAZMAT Unit | Rafael Cordero Ave. (Behind the PRPD regional station) |
| Gurabo | Engine 128 | Between 1st. Street and PR-9944 (Downtown Gurabo) | |
| San Lorenzo | Engine 130 | PR-203, Public Safety Complex | |
| Cayey | Engine 127 | PR-1 km. 54.8 | |
| Aibonito | Engine 126 | Felix Rios St. (Behind the PRPD regional station) | |
| Cidra | Engine | El Jíbaro Ave./PR-173 | |
| Aguas Buenas | Engine 124 | #2 Muñoz Rivera St. |