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The City of Chico Fire Department is a department of the City of Chico. It is under the command of Fire Chief James Beery and has 75 full-time personnel, 72 of which are uniformed. The department also maintains a force of 36 volunteer firefighters who are used on large scale emergencies.

Department Information

The Chico Fire Department operates six fire stations, a Fire Training Center and over 30 pieces of the most modern emergency apparatus in northern California. A population of 84,396 people in a 31 square mile area are served by the Department. The Department provides first response to emergencies in the surrounding unincorporated area through the Chico Urban Area Fire and Rescue Agreement.

The Department fields specialized teams for technical rescues, drowning accidents, and hazardous materials response. Paramedics support these teams and serve on the Police SWAT Team.

The Department maintains a fire insurance rating of ISO 2, the second highest possible on a rating scale of 10. Only a few dozen other fire departments in California share this rating, which can result in a substantial savings on fire insurance premiums. The average response time to emergencies in most of the city is 4.4 minutes.

The Department maintains a Fire Prevention & Life Safety Bureau lead by the Fire Marshal and staffed with Fire Inspectors. The Bureau provides fire protection engineering services, Fire Code enforcement, Life Safety education programs, and determines origin and cause for fires. The Bureau is supported by a cadre of university interns and fire prevention volunteers.

All firefighters are comprehensively and vigorously trained. Certification is achieved through universities, the California State Board of Fire Services, NorCal Emergency Medical Services, Inc., the California Specialized Training Institute, the National Fire Academy, Federal Aviation Administration, and others.

Approximately 28% of the City General Fund budget is spent to provide fire and rescue services.

• Fire Station 1 at 842 Salem Street
• Fire Station 2 at 182 East 5th Avenue
• Fire Station 3 at 145 Boeing Avenue
• Fire Station 4 at 2405 Notre Dame Boulevard
• Fire Station 5 at 1777 Manzanita Avenue
• Fire Station 6 at 2544 Highway 32
• Fire Training Center at 1466 Humboldt Road

Major Urban Fires

• Bidwell Building on December 1, 2009.
• Silberstein Park Building in 1924