History

The St. Petersburg Fire Department became a paid force in 1907, after many years as a volunteer department. The first fire station in St. Petersburg is today the McNulty Building, (named for the department's second Fire Chief) and is now a historic office building in the heart of downtown. This building once housed St. Petersburg's first “fire trucks”; horse-drawn carriages. Today, St. Petersburg has 30 pieces of firefighting apparatus, 12 fire stations, and a force of 310 firefighters and paramedics.

In 1993, the St. Petersburg Fire Department changed its name to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue to better reflect the high volume of emergency medical services provided in addition to fire suppression activities. St. Petersburg Fire Rescue also provides specialized life safety services by staffing three specialty teams. The Technical Rescue Team is housed in our Northshore Fire Station and is outfitted to respond to elevated, below-grade, confined-space, and structural collapse rescues. The Hazardous Materials Team responds out of our Downtown Master Fire Station to spills and releases of toxic substances, liquids, or gases countywide. Our Dive and Marine Rescue Team, located at our Lakewood Fire Station, is staffed by certified rescue divers and responds to rescue victims of emergencies on St. Petersburg's many waterways.

Our A, B and C shifts work 24-hours on duty and 48 hours off, and are managed by 9 District Chiefs. Each “DC” is responsible for a designated area of the City. Each shift also has 1 Rescue Captain and 2 Rescue Lieutenant's responding to complex medical calls, overseeing patient care.

Our downtown Fire Headquarters building houses a heavy equipment repair shop, and offices for more than 40 administrative personnel, including 5 Division Chiefs and the Fire Chief. Headquarters is also home to our Fire Inspectors, Public Educators, Training Coordinators, Accountants, Computer Services and Office Systems Specialists who work behind the scenes of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue. The headquarters building transforms into an Emergency Operations Center in times of crisis.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue protects the lives and property of more than 260,000 residents and responds to more than 40,000 emergency incidents annually.

History of Chiefs

The newly organized force was headed by G. W. Anderson. During his term, headquarters was moved first to Anderson's Meat Market and later to Fire Station No. 1, which was built in 1911, at Third Street and Second Avenue South. The first horse-drawn steam engine was purchased during this period. The horses, Dick and Dan, are mentioned often in remaining records. Following Chief Anderson's death in 1912, J. T. McNulty was appointed Chief and served until 1936. Two more stations were added by this time. The increased efficiency of the fire department was shown by a report that the fire loss in St. Petersburg was relatively small, considering the size of the town and the number of wooden buildings.

Chief McNulty was succeeded by A. H. Tuthill, who served until the appointment of Claude Nesbit. In 1939, the National Board of Fire Underwriters, in its first report since 1926, reported that an increase in manpower over the 46 man force was needed. New equipment was also identified as a necessity. Nesbit remained Chief until 1952.

The city had grown to more than 58 square miles. The Department had 57 employees working out of six stations. During S. O. Griffith's term as Chief, 1952 until 1962, the city added two more stations and a snorkel truck for high rise rescue.

The appointment of Chief Z. C. Greenway in 1962 marked the first use of written and oral tests to fill departmental vacancies. The position of Assistant Chief was filled by rotating various Deputy Chiefs through the office. Station #10 was built, more personnel were added to the training staff, and programs in civil preparedness and communications were set up.

After Chief Greenway's retirement in 1980, the City's first “outside” Chief was appointed. L. Trujillo came to St. Petersburg from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although his term was only 20 months, he brought a different perspective of fire administration to this department.

J. G. Knight retired from the St. Petersburg Fire Department after 21 years. He retired as the Assistant Chief of Operations. After a short term as Chief of the Largo Fire Department, he returned to St. Petersburg as Chief in January 1983. Chief Knight lead the Fire Rescue Department for thirteen years. Under his direction, a commitment was made to being a leader in every aspect of fire protection, emergency management, and emergency medical service. The department changed its name in 1993 to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue to better reflect the services provided to the community.

James K. Callahan was promoted through the ranks and served as Assistant Chief for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue until 1990, when he assumed the position of Fire Chief in Hillsborough County. Chief Callahan returned to St. Petersburg in March 1996 as Fire Chief. He serve the City until January of 2006, when he retired to accept a position with the Monroe County Fire Department.

James D. Large was hired in 1974. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1979, captain in 1982, district chief in 1985, and assistant chief in 1991. He served in both assistant chief positions, Operations and Fire Marshal, before his appointment to Fire Chief in February of 2006. He continues the long tradition of excellence in the fire and life safety service provided to the citizens of St. Petersburg.