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Emergency Services: The Colorado Springs Fire Department has staffed emergency response resources deployed throughout the city in order to reach the site of an incident within 8 minutes from the time of the call 90% of the time. If an emergency is not primarily law enforcement related, the CSFD is generally the agency which responds to your 911 call for help. The department fully staffs 18 Engine companies, 5 Truck companies, 1 Hazmat Team, and 2 Medical Squads. In addition the department has 10 Brush Trucks for wildland firefighting, 1 Heavy Rescue truck, 1 Air Supply truck, 1 Hazardous Materials Decontamination vehicle, and one Hose Wagon that can also be staffed with personnel and dispatched to emergencies.

The CSFD is the primary agency to respond to the following emergency situations:

• Fires in structures, motor vehicles, wildland, and any other location where uncontrolled fire is taking place. All engine companies are trained and equipped to fight fires of all types but the department also maintains a team of individuals with specialized training and equipment for use at wildland fires such as those the state experienced in the year 2000 at Mesa Verde National Park and other areas

• Emergency Medical System (EMS) the Colorado Springs Fire Department is the first response agency to every type of perceived emergency involving the health of people in the community. All firefighters maintain a minimum medical certification of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and are capable of providing basic level medical care including Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), automatic heart defibrillation (AED), and first aid for injuries. Most of the department's response units also have firefighters with the certification of Paramedic (PM) and are able to provide more highly advanced care including heart monitoring, intravenous drug therapies, and some surgical interventions for critical victims of trauma or medical emergencies.

• Rescues of a vast variety including: automobile extrication and other transportation rescues; building collapse or other confined spaces; swiftwater (flood); high angle (rock rescue); fires; machinery entrapment, just to name a few.

• Hazardous Materials response: response to and mitigation of the unplanned release of dangerous chemicals into the air, ground, or water. The CSFD is the federally Designated Emergency Response Agency (DERA) for the city. To fulfill this critical responsibility the department maintains a fully staffed and trained Hazmat Team. This group of individuals also serves as the primary Safety Group in all major fire emergencies in the city.

• Public Service calls for help: electrical hazards such as downed wires or faulty appliances sparking and endangering people; basement flooding into electrical outlets; occasional animal rescues; assistance helping a disabled person back into a bed or wheelchair when no one else can assist; children locked in automobiles. These are just a sampling of the wide variety of emergencies which take place in the community that donšt fall into the categories listed above.