San Diego Fire Department

The San Diego Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of San Diego, California. As of 2007, it consists of 46 fire stations covering over 330 square miles. For medical transportation, the department contracts out San Diego Medical Services Enterprise, or SDMSE. 46 SDMSE units as well as personnel are housed throughout the city's fire stations. SDFD Fire Station 44 is home to 2 Hazmat response units responsible for the assessment all such incidents throughout San Diego County. The department also operates the city's Copter 1, a Bell 212 helicopter equipped for aerial firefighting and aerial rescues as well as medical transportation.

Low Staffing Levels
The San Diego Fire Department is somewhat understaffed compared to comparable fire departments. For example, the fire department has about one firefighter per 1469 residents, compared to one fire fighter per 421 residents in San Francisco. Currently the San Diego Fire Department is the lowest paid department in southern California. In comparison with other major cities with populations over 1 million; such as Los Angeles, the starting pay for City of San Diego Fire Fighter is around $46,000.

It is not clear if these low staffing levels may have played in a role in the disastrous October 2007 California wildfires