Why do locals love Spokane? It may depend on who you ask but most will tell you it's because of the abundance of outdoor recreation, numerous waterways within a close driving distance, arts and culture, a plethora of breweries and wineries, and a rich food scene in the vibrant downtown core. With its natural beauty, entertainment, award winning K-12 schools and world class colleges and universities it's no wonder why Spokane continues to grow!

The Spokane region is nestled in the stunning Inland Pacific northwest and with four distinct seasons the outdoor actives are limitless! There are 76 lakes within 50 miles of Spokane and 5 ski resorts within 2 hours of the City! We have 86 parks and 7 public golf courses as well as 12 conservation areas within 10 miles of downtown. With an average commute time of 19 minutes Spokane locals spend less time commuting and more time living our lives. Spokane has all the perks of a big city but without many of the big city inconveniences.

Additionally, the Spokane River runs through the center of the city and bisects the magnificent 100 acre Riverfront Park. A grand feature of the river is Spokane Falls, one of the largest urban waterfalls in the United States. Spokane offers the outdoors at its finest befitting the community title of "Near Nature, Near Perfect".

Spokane is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the country and a great place to live and play!

The Spokane Fire Department is an innovative organization comprised of over 325 talented personnel who provide “Service and Protection Through Excellence” to the community, each and every day. The Spokane Fire Department’s goal is to serve the community by protecting life, property and the environment. SFD strives to provide excellent service through prevention, education, preparedness, and mitigation, recognizing that our people are the key to success.

SFD responds to over 35,000 calls each year ranging from firefighting and medical aid to auto extraction, special rescue situations and hazardous materials incidents. EMS incidents account for approximately 80% of the total incident volume.

Services are provided from 16 stations located strategically throughout the city staffed by 59 personnel on 24-hour shifts each day on 18 emergency response apparatus. Fourteen (14) of the 18 front line units are staffed with Paramedics and provide ALS service.

Twenty-four (24) hour shift personnel work on a four platoon system on a 24-hour on and 72-hour off schedule comprising a 46.15 hour work week. Additionally, SFD utilizes single-person staffed Alternative Response Units (ARUs) on 10-hour peak hour shifts to primarily respond to non-life threatening incidents to maintain the availability of larger apparatus for more critical incidents.

Special teams and skills provided by response personnel include Confined Space Rescue, Swift Water Rescue, Hazardous Materials, Trench Rescue, Technical Rescues, Rescue Task Force (for Active Shooter Incidents), Paramedic Training, and Auto Extraction.

SFD’s CARES program operates in concert with EWU’s School of Social Work to use student interns to link patients of station personnel’s responses, to social and other community programs that can provide them needed assistance. This program has not only helped to reduce repeated 9-1-1 calls, but has aided those in need by getting them in touch with existing programs that can provide them help in a number of ways.

Besides emergency responses, the Fire Department provides a number of other services to the public. There is significant fire prevention and life safety work through: Public Education Programs, Life-Safety Related Code Enforcement and Development, Permit Issuance, Special Event Planning, Construction and Building Inspections, Life Safety System Records Management, Business License Fire Inspections, Permitting, Planning, Rapid Entry Systems and Fire Investigation.

SFD’s Combined Communications Center (CCC) also provides Fire and Emergency Medical Dispatch services to all fire agencies in Spokane County through a contractual arrangement. The CCC receives calls through the county-wide 9-1-1 system and dispatches over 60,000 calls per year. Divisions within the Fire Department include: The Training Division: ensures competent and highly trained firefighters, paramedics and specialty units. Facilities at the SFD Training Campus provide a variety of training opportunities for City personnel and others throughout the region. The SFD Training Campus consists of a high-tech training facility with classrooms, meeting rooms, lecture halls and a full television recording studio. The training center serves as the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) for all of Spokane County. The campus also includes the Emergency Combined Communications Building which houses 9-1-1, Law Enforcement Dispatch and Fire Dispatch. For hands-on training, there is a state of the art 5-story “Field House” that allows for climate-controlled training. The facility is large enough to drive multiple apparatus in the building and perform high-rise ladder and rescue training. The Field House also has flexible training rooms for search and rescue, confined space rescue, technical rescue, roof cutting, multi-company drills, rappelling and new apparatus training.

The EMS Division: leads and manages the Fire Department’s (FD) medical delivery systems necessary to provide quality pre-hospital basic life support and paramedic level critical care. Additionally, EMS is responsible for the management and oversight of the 9-1-1 ambulance transport contract as well as participation in the coordination of the overall community EMS system.

The Logistics Division provides maintenance services for all response apparatus and equipment used by response personnel as well as oversees SFD’s 20 facilities.

The Planning and Information Management Division provides critical information technology services for the entire Fire Department with key responsibilities including computer aided dispatch (CAD) and other systems necessary to provide contract dispatching services.

The City of Spokane Fire Department is not hiring for the remainder of 2024. We will begin hiring again in 2025.

$67,254.48 - $127,604.70 per year

Major medical and life insurance policies are available at group rates to employees and families; paid vacation; paid sick leave; LEOFF retirement; tuition reimbursement program and other negotiated benefits.