Current and Future
Today, the department continues to operate a combination department with 28 career personnel and many volunteers, which makeup three divisions. The Operations Division is balanced in three platoons of firefighters that work shift work of on-duty for 24 hours and then off-duty for 48 hours. The three platoons staff two stations and respond to emergency and non-emergency request for service calls. The Life Safety Division is comprised of the fire marshal, who coordinates the fire prevention aspect of the fire service. Code Enforcement and Animal Services makeup the Community Services Division. A very active not-for-profit auxiliary that is made up of departmental members as well as their family members and other residents that want to support their community fire department also support the Department.
The auxiliary is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and is commonly referred to as the Association. Along with fund-raising activities, the association sponsors many little league sports teams and supports the community through various activities. The association has also assisted in the coordination of the annual Fourth of July festivities for community for over 50 years. The association also garnishes support to the Operations Division by the provision of support personnel to do non-emergency tasks on large incidents and at trainings.
The Edgewater Fire Department has advanced a long way from a police chief carrying water tanks in the trunk of his patrol car responding to five brush fires per year, into a well-organized combination department responding to an average of 2,700 incidents annually. Not only has the department increased its call volume, it also has expanded the level of service to provide emergency medical services, hazardous materials response fire suppression, business inspections, emergency management, water rescue and a variety of public education courses including cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid and baby-sitter courses. The department also manages all aspects of code enforcement and animal services.
The department continues to pride itself on providing very cost effective services while assuring that the level of service or the customer service is never below the expectations of the community. As the department continues to plan for the future, the community can expect continuous expansion of the services that are offered to the citizens. The present goals will guide the department towards the ability to provide ambulance transport for the residents, increased working relationships with neighboring communities and additional home healthcare services delivered to patients confined to their homes.
