About The Department

Two firefighters pose with local children in front of a fire truck.
Five firefighters stand in front of Central Station
A firefighter stands on a fire truck spraying a hose at a dumpster in a training exercise.

Demographics

Located 15 miles south of Portland and 90 miles north of Boston. The Biddeford Fire Department provides Fire and Emergency Services to a community with a population of 21,000 and covers 33 square miles of urban and rural area.

The City of Biddeford

The City of Biddeford is approximately 33 square miles and is bisected by the Maine Turnpike I-95 and Transport Railroad. Within these boundaries lies a mixture of residential, commercial, industrial properties, Southern Maine Health Care and the University of New England Campus. The City is also blessed with 7 miles of ocean beach as well as bordered by the Saco River. During the summer months the population swells as several thousands of people vacation here. This also increases the daytime population for commercial and industrial businesses in the area. All of these factors contribute to the number of calls that the Biddeford Fire Department responds to.

The Present Emergency Services System

The Biddeford Fire Department provides fire protection, advanced life support ambulance service, fire prevention and special rescue service to the greater Biddeford area. The department provides these services through a compliment of 46 full-time personnel and 20 call firefighters.

The Biddeford Fire Department must respond to all calls and provide emergency medical services, but the department also responds to a multitude of other types of calls, such as building fires, vehicle accidents, car and brush fires, hazardous materials, water rescue, below grade, just to name a few. The nature of these calls requires that the Biddeford Fire Department be a complete emergency service and not just a fire department.

Biddeford has a large industrial base which includes large mills, industrial parks and a municipal airport. We cover 8 miles of the Amtrak Passenger train rails as well as other train commodities traveling through and stopping in the City.

Stations & Resources

The department maintains two stations. Central Station, located downtown, is staffed 24 hours a day with full-time firefighters and EMS personnel, augmented by a call division department. Apparatus assigned to central include:

  • Engine 24
  • Engine 26
  • Squad 28
  • Truck 32
  • Special Hazards 34
  • EMS 10, 12, 14
  • Brush 20
  • Car 1, 2 and 3
  • Service 4
  • Marine 202
  • Hazmat 204
  • Rehab 206

Station 2 located in Biddeford Pool and houses Engine 22 and is staffed by a District Chief and 4 call firefighters.

Fire Alarm Communications

Located at the Police Department. The Biddeford Fire Department and the Police Department utilizes a joint communication center. All dispatchers are EMD and EFD certified, offering pre-arrival instruction.

Emergency Medical Services

The department staffs two ambulances and has a third as a spare unit. The second ambulance is cross staffed with personnel assigned to fire apparatus.

The Biddeford Fire Department Rescue service is licensed at the Intermediate level and EMT/Firefighters are licensed at the Intermediate and Paramedic Levels.

Our Engine companies are also equipped with ALS equipment including cardiac monitors, medication drug boxes, and air way management equipment and trained EMS personnel.

Student Firefighter Program

The Biddeford Fire Department in conjunction with the Biddeford High School has a Student Firefighter program.

The program will take up to six students. Students in the program learn the basics in firefighting and emergency responses. They fall under the direction of the call force and meet twice a month for training. Once they have completed an orientation process they are allowed to respond on certain emergency calls with the on duty shift.