District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, (also known as DC FEMS, FEMS, DCFD, DC Fire, or Fire & EMS), established July 1, 1884, provides fire protection and emergency medical service to the city of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. An organ of the devolved district government, Fire & EMS is responsible for providing fire suppression, ambulance service and hazardous materials containment for the federal district.
History
On January 13, 1803, prior to the formation of a fire fighting company in the city, Washington's first law regarding fire control was passed; this law instructed that for every building in the city, the building's owner must provide leather buckets for use in fire suppression. Owners were required to provide as many buckets as there were stories to the building. The fine for failure to provide the required number of buckets was one dollar per missing bucket.
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