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, homeland security and special operations response for the District of Columbia, including planned events and activities unique to the nation's capital. The department is responsible for fire and life safety code enforcement, along with community-based education and prevention programs. FEMS is the lead first-response agency for managing consequences resulting from natural disasters or other catastrophic events impacting the national capital region. To provide these services, the department maintains a response fleet of 100 ambulances, 101 fire apparatus, 4 fire boats, and 168 support vehicles. The department has 34 neighborhood fire stations and 7 support facilities. Major facilities include: Headquarters, Logistics Warehouse, Training Academy and the Fleet Maintenance Facility. 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.