About the City of Milton Fire Department

Types of Emergencies

The fire department responds to a wide variety of emergency incidents including: 

• Structure fires
• Vehicle fires
• Brush fires
• Medical emergencies
• Vehicle accidents
• Extrication
• Downed power lines
• Fuel spills
• Gas leaks
• Hazardous material emergencies
• Animal rescues

On-duty personnel handle response to most incidents. Response to working structure fires, and similar large incidents requiring a great deal of manpower, is provided through call-back of off-duty personnel, providing the ability to assign up to 16 trained firefighters to an emergency on rapid notice.

Standard Operating Procedures

The City of Milton Fire Department's capacity to respond to and manage a wide variety of specialized emergency incidents is greatly improved through the establishment of a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). These SOPs cover: 

• The Incident Command System
• Communications
• Responses to fire calls, medical calls, hazardous materials incidents, waterborne emergencies, mass casualty incidents, mass casualty incidents involving violence, bomb threats, and ground searches missions
• Self Contained Breathing Apparatus
• Training
• Apparatus maintenance
• Pre-fire planning

In conjunction with continuing training in all areas of emergency response, these SOP's provide an effective framework around which to manage the response to all emergency incidents.

Training

Training is a very important part of our normal routine. Each year, in addition to the annual training calendar, very beneficial specialized training programs are conducted. Periodic multi-jurisdictional hazardous material exercises are conducted in conjunction with Santa Rosa County Emergency Management. Extensive training has been conducted on Confined Space Entry and Rescue, Incident Command, Hazardous Materials Response, Response to Terrorism, railroad incidents, and Emergency Medical Technician training.

Life Safety Inspections

The City of Milton Fire Department conducts Life Safety Inspections on new and renovated businesses, as well as all new occupancies when an Occupational License is applied for. We have also begun to utilize certified suppression personnel to begin a program of regular Life Safety Inspections. This program has been very successful, and has addressed many deficiencies that have gone unaddressed for many years. We expect this program to greatly improve the level of life safety in commercial buildings, and hope to expand this program in the future.

Other Involvement

Prevention of fire, injury, and other emergencies is a major part of our effort. Fire Department personnel provide public education to many groups, including school children, civic groups, and business and industry groups. We are prepared to meet the many challenges that the new millennium brings. We continue to work toward necessary future improvements such as replacing the existing rescue vehicle, and eventually increasing staffing to meet the ever-increasing emergency activity. The Milton Fire Department is intent on professionally meeting the emergency services needs of our community in the 21st century.

Other Useful Links

• Santa Rosa County Fire Departments
• Florida State Fire Marshal's Office
• U.S. Fire Administration

Additional Information

• Apparatus
• Community Service
• Core Values
• Fire Activity (Annual Reports)
• Fire Chief
• History of the Department
• Measure of Effectiveness