Jefferson County Fire Service
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| "Dedication, Loyalty, Honor" | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1947 |
| Employees | 418 Career 433 Volunteers |
| Staffing | Combination |
| EMS level | BLS & ALS |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 43 Active |
The Jefferson County Fire Service (abbreviated JCFS and known locally as "County Fire," or, recently "Suburban Fire") is a loose confederation of the 17 independent fire protection districts within Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky. JCFS formed for the purpose of mutual aid, training, and local standardization.
Contents
Organization
The JCFS is not a distinct fire department per se but an umbrella organization coordinating cooperation between the many disparate fire districts within the county that by their proximity must work together efficiently. JCFS does not have a chief or any type of hierarchy and has no binding executive or legislative authority over its membership. Instead it comprises various committees and associations that specialize in areas that affect the fire service in Jefferson County as a whole.
Most of the Jefferson County fire districts wear the Jefferson County Fire distinctive insignia patch on the right shoulder of their uniforms.
History
Jefferson County Fire Department
Before 1947 Jefferson County Fiscal Court operated the Jefferson County Fire Department. The department operated three engine companies from three stations equally spread across the unincorporated county land.[1]
Fire Taxing Districts
A chapter of Kentucky's codified set of laws, the Kentucky Revised Statutes allows for the incorporation of fire protection taxing districts in otherwise unincorporated areas. As the population of Jefferson County grew after the Second World War small communities began to believe the services of the county fire department were wholly inadequate for their growing needs. These communities secured the votes necessary to establish fire protection districts. The districts levied a tax based on a property owner's total real estate worth and allowed for more money to be available exclusively for fire protection. Eventually 21 separate districts were formed, completely covering all of Jefferson County outside of the Cities of Louisville and Shively. Since it was now unnecessary Jefferson County Fiscal Court disbanded the county fire department completely in 1964.[citation needed]
City–County merger
The 2003 merger of Louisville and Jefferson County governments did little to affect the Jefferson County fire districts. Since the merger other non-official names for JCFS have been coined such as "Louisville Metro Suburban Fire" and the "Suburban Division, Louisville Metro Fire". Since Louisville Metro Government has no direct control over 18 of the 19 fire departments inside its boundaries, to refer to any fire department in the area as "metro" would be misleading and inaccurate. Although held by some[who?] to be pejorative, the term "Suburban Fire" is used exclusively by Metro Government to refer to Jefferson County Fire Service member districts.[citation needed]
The merger legislation permits the continuing existence of all governmental subdivisions of the county including cities and fire protection districts. It does, however, prohibit the incorporation of new ones. Consequently, and as a result of financial woes, several districts have chosen to dissolve and to be absorbed by neighboring districts. Strict mergers of districts are not possible since a new governmental entity would necessarily be created.[citation needed]
Of the original 21 fire protection districts, so far four have chosen to dissolve. Their tax revenue, areas, personnel, and equipment have been absorbed by neighboring districts. Those former districts had names that are still familiar: Edgewood, South Dixie, Black Mudd, and Dixie Suburban.
Dixie Suburban-Lake Dreamland Merger
Dixie Suburban and Lake Dreamland fire departments officially merged in July 2011.[2]
Constituency
Member fire districts
Member districts of JCFS include all departments within Louisville-Jefferson County organized under Chapter 75 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes.
| Jefferson County Fire Protection Districts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Anchorage | Buechel | Camp Taylor |
| Eastwood | Fairdale | Fern Creek |
| Harrods Creek | Highview | Jeffersontown |
| Lake Dreamland | Lyndon | McMahan |
| Middletown | Okolona | Pleasure Ridge Park |
| St Matthews | Worthington | |
Although not fire protection districts organized under Chapter 75 of the KRS the City of Shively Fire Department and Louisville Division of Fire often participate with JCFS in training.
Mutual Aid
The primary purpose of JCFS is to coordinate help and cooperation between the fire districts in fire suppression activities. The member district of JCFS have, through the years, integrated their response plans with one another to the extent that the districts de facto operate as one on the fireground. Newly adopted dispatching protocols disregard traditional district boundaries and direct the response of the closest, most appropriate fire equipment to a call for help. It is not uncommon to see fire apparatus from two or more districts on the scene of a routine fire call. Interoperability between the JCFS districts and Louisville Division of Fire is informal and the two organizations do not participate in the unified chain of command when operating together.
See also
- Louisville Division of Fire
- Louisville Metro EMS
- Louisville Metro Police Department
- Shively, Kentucky
References
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012
- All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2009
- Jefferson County, Kentucky
- Infrastructure in Louisville, Kentucky
- Fire departments in Kentucky
- Fire protection districts in the United States
