The mission of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) is to preserve life and promote health and safety through excellent pre-hospital treatment and transportation, fire prevention, fire suppression, rescue activities, and homeland security awareness.

Summary of Services

The Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) provides emergency medical services (EMS), fire suppression, technical rescue, special hazards rescue, marine rescue, firefighting, and other emergency services to preserve life and protect property in the District of Columbia. FEMS is the primary first-response public safety agency for managing consequences resulting from natural disasters or other all-hazards and catastrophic events potentially impacting the national capital region. FEMS provides a number of community risk reduction services including homeland security preparedness; health and fire safety education for schools, young children and senior adults; and fire inspection and code enforcement programs. FEMS is a leading provider of public safety information by social media and operates public outreach programs for CPR and AED training, smoke alarms, and other community services. Key objectives in accomplishing our mission are:

• Embracing a supportive work environment focused on creating a safe, competent, and professional workforce team;
• Ensuring that our facilities, vehicles, equipment, and processes remain capable of supporting service delivery requirements;
• Building collaborative relationships within our community to improve service delivery; and
• Delivering timely, high quality, and effective services to better serve the needs of our community.