History of the Fernandina Beach Fire Department

A devastating fire in 1883 spurred city leaders into forming a fire department to protect the City of Fernandina Beach.

On October 17th, 1883, The Fernandina Fire Department was organized and adopted by the council of the City of Fernandina. The arrival of the department's first extinguishing apparatus arrived the week of March 22nd, 1884. The chemical fire engine "Samuel A. Swann" and a hook and ladder truck arrived from Baltimore, Maryland, where they were built upon the order from the City Council.

The first Chief of the Fernandina Fire Department was James McGiffin.

In 1901, The Fernandina Fire Department provided mutual aid during the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901. In 1951, the department became known as the Fernandina Beach Fire Department. 1972 saw the Fernandina Beach Fire Department provide the first emergency transport unit in Nassau County. The Department was a combination paid/volunteer department until 1984, when the department's volunteer program ended.

The first fire station was located at the intersection of North 3rd Street and Alachua Street before it was relocated to 204 Ash Street in 1904. That station is currently City Hall, which house numerous offices of the city and city commissioners' chambers. In 1978, Fire Station 2 opened at 2800 John Robas Road. In 1994, a grant was approved by Kings Bay for construction of the new Fire Station 1 at 225 South 14th Street.

The firefighters of the Fernandina Fire and Rescue Department formed a union in 1981, joining the International Association of Firefighters as Local 2836. The local does various things for the community as well as participating in the annual "Fill the Boot" Drive for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, an organization dedicated to combatting neuromuscular diseases in children.