Response Guide

The fire department responds to a variety of emergencies. For each type of the emergency the department responds with certain apparatus and a certain number of personnel. Below are the response assignments that the department has put in place. Also are some of the emergencies that the department responds to and their respective assignments.

For fire calls the town is divided into 5 districts each with its own response assignments. This also defines which town will respond for mutual aid, depending on the area of town. Each district has it's own "run card." Click on the link below to see the response areas, and the correspond run cards.

Response Assignments
Still Alarm	Village - 1 Engine Outside Village - 1 Engine, 2 personnel to cover headquarters
First Alarm	City - Engine 1, Engine 3, Tower 4, Car 1. Rescue 2 for cover at headquarters Rural - Engine 1, Engine 3, Rescue 2, Car 1. Tower 4 for cover at headquarters
Mutual Aid	Many times St. Johnsbury is requested by another town for mutual aid to assist them with an incident. Whether from a predefined run card, or by special call 1 or more pieces of apparatus may be requested. For mutual aid calls, the on-duty staff will wait to fill out the apparatus before responding.
Automatic Mutual Aid	St. Johnsbury responds automatically to incidents in neighboring communities with agreements in place to protect adjoinging districts. For these calls the, on-duty staff will respond immediately for a rapid response.
Special Call	During any incident, the officer in charge may request additional apparatus to respond. If the first due engine company requires assistance they may request additional support. In addition, surrounding communities may special call specific resources for incident's requiring special needs.

Incidents
Type of Incident	Primary Response	Special Responses
Medical Emergency	Still Alarm	1. Only responds to calls in the village limits. 2. Cardiac arrest will initiate a response anywhere is town, and 2 personnel are called for coverage. 3. If the primary transporting agency is not available, the engine company responds to all areas of town.
Auto Accident	Still Alarm	1. Confirmed entrapment initiates a First Alarm.
Brush Fire	Still Alarm	1. On-duty officer may request a First Alarm if needed.
Auto Fires	Still Alarm
Chemical Spills	Still Alarm
Outside Smoke and Odor Investigations	Still Alarm
Carbon Monoxide Incidents	Still Alarm
Haz-Mat Incident	Still Alarm	1. The first due engine will determine the severity of the spill or release. If more manpower is needed additional alarms may be transmitted.
Building Fire	First Alarm
Box Alarms	First Alarm	Street Box - Still Alarm Master Box - First Alarm
Fire Alarm Activation	First Alarm
Inside Smoke and Odor Investigations	First Alarm
Chimney Fires	First Alarm
Not all incidents are covered in this guide. If the on-duty staff receives a call that they can handle they will respond with a Still Alarm assignment. Any call may be upgraded to First Alarm or higher if needed.

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