Fire Department/ EMS
For Emergencies: Dial 9-1-1
Notice of Privacy Practices
To view a copy of the City of Watervliet’s Notice of Privacy Practices please click here
Mission Statement
The mission of the City of Watervliet Fire Department is to minimize the hazards of fire through fire prevention education. It is also the mission to deliver professional response to the citizens’ needs for fire suppression, all emergency medical needs, and hazardous material spill mitigation.
Services Provided by the Watervliet Fire Department
- Fire Suppression and Control
- Fire Prevention and Public Relations
- Fire Investigation
- Hazardous Material Incident Response
- Emergency Medical Service Response (EMT and PARAMEDIC)
- Emergency Transportation
- Natural Gas, Carbon Monoxide and Electrical Emergency Response
- Emergency Rescue Response
- Mutual Aid to Neighboring Communities
- Non-Emergency Service for Public Assistance
The Watervliet Fire Investigation Task Force was created in 1991 and is a synergy between the Watervliet Fire Department and Watervliet Police Department. The team is comprised of three Fire Officers and two Police Investigators. All members of the Task Force are certified by the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and are all graduates of the Arson Investigation Academy at Montour Falls, New York. Any inquiries regarding the Fire Investigation Task Force should be forwarded to Fire Chief Tom Garrett.
Fire Department Organization and Operations
The Watervliet Fire Department is the Fire and Emergency Services branch of the City of Watervliet municipal government and has been housed in the Thomas M. McCormack Fire Headquarters on 2nd Avenue and 13th Street in the City since 1970. The Department consists of professional firefighters and operates under a four platoon system. The on duty work schedule is a twenty-four hour shift.
The Fire Department is National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant. The Incident Command System (ICS) is a coordinated effort that brings together the major elements of an operation – specifically, command, operations, planning, and logistics under a unified command. The ICS is the backbone of Emergency Services response in the City of Watervliet.
The first alarm response consists of one engine and an aerial tower manned by platoon members on duty. Greater alarms are responded to by recall of off duty personnel via the County’s page/radio monitoring system and additional mutual aid or special call response. Emergency Medical certifications are held by all members of the firefighter staff. The EMS program is overseen by a medical doctor and Firefighter Tom Corcoran.
The City of Watervliet Fire Department also operates an ambulance service staffed by our firefighters who have been trained as paramedics. The service operates an Advanced Life Support (ALS) unit and a Basic Life Support (BLS) unit. This service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.