The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department is a combination career/volunteer county-level agency that provides "..fire prevention, fire protection, emergency medical services, and community outreach programs" for residents of Prince George's County, Maryland. The Department is composed of volunteers from 33 different fire companies throughout the county, as well as career firefighters affiliated with The Prince George's County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, IAFF Local 1619. According to the Firehouse Magazine 2010 Combination Fire Department Run Survey The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department covers a response area of approximately 580 miles, protects approximately 900,000 people, and has an annual operating budget of 132 million dollars. The same survey attributes 29,038 fire calls to the county along with 104,680 EMS calls for a total of 133,718 calls for service in 2010, making the PGFD the busiest combination department to submit statistics.HistoryIn 1742, the town of Bladensburg became the first governmental entity to pass a fire prevention ordinance. The simple ordinance stipulated that all residential and commercial buildings had to be equipped with a smoke chimney. In 1886, the town of Hyattsville organized the first volunteer fire company in the county. With a donated budget of $27, the fire company bought a two-wheeled hand truck equipped with a barrel, pump, and hose. Two years later, in 1888, the town of Upper Marlboro organized the Marlboro Fire Association following two major town fires. John C. Wyvill had the first fire station built at a cost of $342.
