The City of Milton Fire Department consists of 16 personnel divided into three rotating 24-hour shifts of five members each, and the Fire Chief. Each shift is composed of a Captain, a Lieutenant, and three Firefighters. The department has 3 pumpers, a midi-pumper rescue vehicle, two staff vehicles, and a rescue boat, all housed in the new Fire Station located at 5321 Stewart Street.  This station provides sleeping and living quarters for the on-duty personnel, administrative office of the Fire Chief, storage for the fire apparatus, and storage for all fire department equipment. This new, state of the art facility also provides an area for classroom training and public education, and incorporates specialized training props to support hands-on practical training on a single-company, multi-company, and multi-jurisdictional level.

The fire department responds to a wide variety of emergency incidents including structure fires, vehicle fires, brush fires, medical emergencies, vehicle accidents, extrication, gas leaks, fuel spills, downed power lines, hazardous material emergencies, and even 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. These SOP’s 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; pre-fire planning; training; apparatus maintenance; and, Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. 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 fire station facility, 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.