The West Fargo Fire Department is a combination department with an authorized strength of 67 employees; 22 full-time employees and 45 part-time or paid on-call employees. The department is an all hazards department, meaning the department responds to all hazards, such as fires, medical emergencies, rescues, hazardous materials incidents, acts of terrorism and natural disasters.  

The department has five divisions: Administration, Risk Reduction, Operations, Professional Standards, and Emergency Management. Each is managed by a Deputy Chief or non-sworn civilian manager except for the Administration Division.

ADMINISTRATION

Sets policy and guidelines, manages the annual budget, applies for and manages grants, and provides resources for the other divisions to accomplish their missions. 

RISK REDUCTION

Ensures fire safety systems in commercial and public buildings are built to code through plans review of new or remodeled buildings. Makes certain all fire safety systems are maintained and operating properly. Ensures bi-annual fire code compliance inspections are completed. 

Another goal of the division is to reduce emergencies and increase community resiliency in case of natural disasters. The division accomplishes these goals through community involvement and non-traditional outreach, such as in-home safety assessments.  

OPERATIONS

Responds to all emergencies throughout the city, including fires, rescues, medical emergencies, rescues, hazardous materials incidents, acts of terrorism and natural disasters. The division staffs 15 firefighters a day for response to calls for service. This is accomplished through a combination of firefighters in the stations and other on-call firefighters. 

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Sets and maintains all Professional Standards for the department, which range through all the other divisions such as credentialing of Emergency Medical Services personnel through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and firefighters through the North Dakota Firefighters Association and Pro-Board. 

Training also falls under the Professional Standards Division. 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Coordinates across the whole community in the five mission areas as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

• Prevention
• Protection
• Mitigation
• Response
• Recovery.