History

The Villages Fire Rescue was established in 1999 to protect the residents of The Villages. When established, The Villages was a small retirement community in Northern Sumter County and Northeast Lake County. At the time, the department consisted of one fire station, nine firefighters, and one Fire Chief.

Today, The Villages Fire Rescue has the honor of serving the world’s largest retirement community. The department’s coverage area exceeds 55 square miles with over 140,000 residents in three counties (Lake, Sumter, Marion) and five cities (Lady Lake, Wildwood, Coleman, Oxford, Fruitland Park). Although predominately a retirement community, the Villages has three family communities and an A+ charter school system (pre-K through 12th). The Villages Fire Rescue has the honor of protecting a population demographic that spans all ages.

Department Profile

The Village Fire Rescue is a full-service fire-rescue department operating out of nine stations strategically located to ensure a rapid response to emergencies.

• 9 – Fire Stations
• 135 – Uniformed Personnel
• 6 – Engines
• 2 – 75’ Aerial Ladders
• 1 – 95’ Tower Ladder
• 1 – Squad (Heavy Rescue)
• 4 – Rescues (non-transport medical unit)
• 2 – Attack Units (ALS/Mini-Pumper)
• 1 – Marine Unit
• 1 – All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) unit
• 2 – Battalion Chiefs (per shift)

Services Provided

Fire Suppression ● Emergency Medical Response ● High Angle Rope Rescue ● Confined Space Rescue ● Trench Collapse Rescue ● Vehicle Machinery Rescue (extrication) ● Structural Collapse Rescue ● Water Rescue ● A Technical Rescue Team that is part of Florida Light Technical Rescue Team 417 (LTRT 417) ● Operations Level Hazardous Materials Response ● Fire Prevention (including Public Education Programs) ● Smoke Detector Battery Changes

The Villages Fire Rescue responded to over 25,000 calls in 2018. 58% of calls were for medical emergencies and the other 42% were fire related calls. Examples of fire related calls include structure fires, vehicle fires, grass fires, fire alarms, motor vehicle collisions and special operations calls such as hazardous materials response and technical rescue responses.

Insurance Service Organization Public Protection Class

The Villages Fire Rescue is proud to have an ISO rating of 2. This is a nationally recognized standard that is based on extensive criteria that evaluates a fire department’s ability to protect its citizens and property. ISO is a third party independent agency that evaluates the fire department, water department and communications systems. It rates the results on a national scale from one to ten (one being the best and highest score). The Villages Fire Rescue’s rating of 2 is rare among American fire departments with only 2% of fire departments in the country obtaining this level.