Operations Division
The Operations Division is under the general supervision of the Deputy Fire Chief and is responsible for response to and mitigation of a broad range of emergency incidents. Career and Volunteer Firefighters and Medics respond to over 7,800 calls for assistance each year in James City County. Calls range from heart attacks to building fires. The Division operates out of five strategically located stations in the county that are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These station assignments include four county stations and the James City Bruton Volunteer Fire Station in Toano where career staffs augment the volunteers. The department routinely staffs five full service engine companies and five medic ambulance companies. Aerial Ladder service is provided using a ladder truck in the western end of the community and with a combination engine/aerial called a quint in the center of the County. The division is responsible for over 37 apparatus units that include Pumper Trucks, Aerial Ladder Trucks, Boats, Brush Fire Response Trucks, Technical Rescue Vehicles, Ambulances, Rescue Trucks, and specialized antiterrorism response vehicles.
The operations division also provides a number of special teams that provide specialized responses. The Open Water Response Team uses a fixed hull boat with firefighting capability and a compressed air hull boat. The team responds to drowning incidents, water rescues, and marine fires on the James and Chickahominy Rivers. The team is comprised of underwater rescue divers and boat operators. The James City-Bruton Volunteer Fire Department responds with their equipment on the York River. The Technical Rescue Team responds to specialized and often complicated rescue incidents. The TRT is also part of the Peninsula Regional Technical Rescue Team. The TRT is also part of the FEMA USAR Virginia Task Force 2 rescue team and members have been deployed to incidents such as the Pentagon on 9/11, the Atlanta Summer Olympics, and the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. The Fire Department also has members on and supports the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Medical Response System. The HRMMRS is a specialized emergency medical response team deployed to major regional incidents to assist with medical triage, treatment, and transport of victims. The Fire Department EMS Bike Team provides two wheeled EMS assistance to our citizens. The members of this team provide emergency medical care using mountain bikes. This mode of transportation provides a more rapid response in large crowd situations.
Day-to-Day leadership of the Operations Division is provided by three shift commanders. The shift commanders are District Chiefs and are responsible for emergency operations on their shift. The District Chiefs are focused on the operational readiness of the department, ensuring that each station is adequately staffed, all equipment is in top operating condition, and that their assigned personnel are always on the mark and ready to go. District Chiefs respond to and command major incidents. District Chiefs are also charged with managing special projects in addition to their shift duties.
A Shift - District Chief Pat Martin
B Shift - District Chief Mark Hill
C Shift - District Chief Chris Thomas
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