▼

Fire

Show All Answers

1. Do fire fighters perform just fire fighting activities?

No. All fire fighters perform multiple roles and are cross-trained in a variety of fire, rescue, and emergency medical disciplines.

2. Why do fire trucks respond to medical calls and car accidents?

The crews on the fire trucks are trained to handle basic life support medical emergencies as well as ancillary problems associated with motor vehicle crashes. Ancillary problems include extrication of patients from vehicles and equipment; addressing spilled or leaking flammable and combustible liquids, and ensuring for overall scene safety of the general public, first responders, and patients. On most occasions, the fire truck is closer to an incident because our fire stations are strategically located within different neighborhoods. This allows for a very quick response time, usually faster than the ambulance will arrive.

3. Why does a fire engine or rescue truck respond ahead of the ambulance to medical emergencies?

Fire stations are strategically located to provide rapid response to all kinds of emergencies. All fire fighters are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians. Most fire engines and rescue trucks are equipped with life-saving equipment. Fire fighters respond to gain access to buildings, assess patients, begin treatment, and prepare patients to be transported to the hospital. Many times there are other safety issues present such as carbon monoxide poisoning, which require advanced metering to detect such hazards so that they do not further injure patients or harm first responders or ambulance crews.

4. How big is your service area and population for fire, rescue, and medical responses?

We primarily serve 22 square miles with 52,000 residents. During the day or during special events we may have upwards of 100,000 people inside our city limits!

5. Does the fire department leave the city limits for emergency response?

Yes. The La Crosse Fire Department provides hazardous materials regional response to the City of La Crosse, La Crosse County, and eight other counties under contract with the State of Wisconsin.
The department also collaborates with the Madison, Janesville, and Beloit Fire Departments to provide technical rescue response services to southwestern Wisconsin in concert with Wisconsin Emergency Management.
The La Crosse Fire Department also has mutual aid agreements with several of the surrounding communities for fire suppression purposes.

6. The La Crosse Fire Department operates on a different frequency than La Crosse County. Can you communicate with other fire and emergency medical service units outside of the City of La Crosse?

Yes. The La Crosse Fire Department has VHF and UHF capabilities for communications with agencies outside of the City of La Crosse. These capabilities have been in place as a result of our Regional Hazardous Materials Response program that covers an eight county area. We also have communications capabilities as being a member of Taskforce 2, Technical Rescue Team that covers southwestern Wisconsin.

7. How many calls for emergency service calls does the department respond to each year?

In 2006 we answered 4,084 emergency calls for help that included 6,513 total unit responses.

8. What is your average response time to emergencies?

About 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

9. What is fractile response time measurement and what is it for the City of La Crosse?

Fractile response time measurement is a method to more accurately describe response times over a broad geographical area. It measures how often (as a percent of total calls) you can reach a particular area of your response district.
The La Crosse Fire Department responds to emergency calls in the City of La Crosse in four minutes or less 87% of the time. The extreme south and north ends of the city currently experience longer response times as compared to the other areas of the City.

10. Do fire department apparatus stage at various locations through the city at different times of the day?

No. Fire stations are strategically located throughout the city thus negating the need for units to stage on street corners or in parking lots. When personnel stage in apparatus they cannot perform other productive work such as training, inspections, pre-fire planning, or other duties. Idling apparatus lends to higher operating cost for fuel and maintenance and is not an efficient utilization of personnel who performs multiple roles and is cross trained in a variety of fire, rescue and emergency medical services.

11. What is the La Crosse Fire Department’s Insurance Services Office rating?

Class 2; Class 1 is the best, class 10 the worst. We are not aware of any Class 1 fire departments in the state of Wisconsin.

12. How many stations does the Department have?

Four; Station 1 is located at 5th and Market Streets; Station 2 on Monitor Street near Copeland Avenue; Station 3 Green Bay Street and Losey Boulevard; and Station 4 at Liberty and Gillette Streets. There are at least 29 fire fighters assigned to each of the three shifts with a minimum of 25 fire fighters on duty citywide 24 hours a day. Another fire station is being considered on the south side of the city to address the expansion of residential growth. Funds have been allocated in the fire department’s budget to perform a feasibility study to address this situation.

13. How many fire fighters are on each fire engine?

There is a minimum of three and a maximum of four personnel that consists of a Captain or Lieutenant, an Engineer, and one or two fire fighters. Emergency medical response units will have two fire fighters assigned.

14. What level of experience does a fire fighter in La Crosse have?

The members of the La Crosse Fire Department bring over 1,350 years of experience in emergency medical services, rescue, fire fighting, and public fire and injury prevention. The typical fire fighter has been with the department for 14.4 years. This number is understated as many fire fighters come to us with prior fire and emergency medical services experience from other departments.
A typical fire fighter on an EMS rescue apparatus has responded to approximately 4,900 medical calls in their career with the La Crosse Fire Department.

15. How long does a typical fire fighter stay with the department?

A fire fighter hired by the La Crosse Fire Department remains with the department on average of 28 years. Conservatively speaking this person would see approximately 9,350 patients in his or her career based on current service volumes.

16. What is a fire fighter’s work schedule?

Fire fighters work three cycles of 24 hours on duty and 24 hours off duty followed by a 96-hour off period year round including weekends and holidays. They can rest between 10 p.m. and 6:45 a.m. if they are not responding to emergencies or involved in training or inspection activities.

17. Where can I find more information on the La Crosse Fire Department?

For more information on these or any other topic, please contact the La Crosse Fire Department at 608-789-7260.