About the UC Davis Fire Department

• What number do I call for non-emergency situations that need Fire Department personnel to respond?
• Fire Department personnel are dispatched for both emergency and non-emergency calls for service by the City of Davis Dispatch Center, which can be reached at 530-747-5400. There are then prompts for reporting an emergency incident or a non-emergency incident.
• What happens if I call the wrong number or leave a voicemail on the wrong line?
• At UC Davis Fire Department, voicemails are sent via email to the respective recipient. We often receive messages intended for other divisions within the department, or other agencies altogether. When this occurs, we will forward the message to the appropriate recipient to ensure your inquiry is handled.
• What should I do if I accidentally call 911?
• First, don’t hang up, as Dispatch will have to call you back to verify that no emergency exists, or send officers to confirm there’s no emergency. Stay on the line, and just tell the dispatcher you accidentally called 911.
• What is the phone number to my fire station?
• If you need to contact someone at the campus station, call UC Davis Fire Headquarters at 530-752-1236.
• How do I find out the names of the firefighters who took care of my emergency so I can send a thank you note?
• Email Fire Department Administration at ucdfirecontact@ucdavis.edu, and include the date, time, and location of your emergency (if possible).
• Can I ride along with the Fire Department?
• Yes, community members can request to ride along on a fire engine. For more information, email Fire Department Administration at ucdfirecontact@ucdavis.edu with your preferred date and start time, as well as an alternative date/time, and we will respond with availability and scheduling.
• What is the closest fire station to my house?
• The UC Davis Fire Department only has one station, located at 625 Kleiber Hall Drive, on campus.
  
  However, if you live in the city, the City of Davis Fire Department has three fire stations, located in Central, West, and South Davis.
  
  Station 31 (Central Davis): 530 5th Street, Davis, CA 95616
  Station 32 (West Davis): 1350 Arlington Blvd., Davis, CA 95616
  Station 33 (South Davis): 425 Mace Blvd., Davis, CA 95616

Resource Deployment and Emergency Operations

• How do I find out what the fire engine/truck I saw responding with lights and sirens was doing today?
• The UC Davis Fire Department utilizes a smartphone application called PulsePoint to engage with our community and inform community members of our incidents and daily activities. The app is free and is offered in both the Apple and Android markets. The app provides customizable notification settings based on incident type, a radio feed, and a map of all campus AED devices.
  
  The PulsePoint app was conceived through the vision of a Bay Area fire chief who was frustrated with the lack of notification options for community lay responders to incidents requiring CPR and AED deployment. The app, when triggered by a call for CPR through dispatch, will notify PulsePoint subscribers within a ½ mile radius of the incident location, to minimize the time between cardiac arrest and the initiation of the Cardiac Chain of Survival. For more information on the PulsePoint application, visit the PulsePoint website, and don’t forget to download the app!
• Why does a fire truck come when you call for an ambulance?
• The UC Davis Fire Department has two constantly staffed apparatus, Engine 34 and Truck 34, which are housed centrally on campus, often making them closer to your emergency than the responding ambulance, which may be farther away. Because firefighters can and often do get there first, and time is critical in a medical emergency, the UC Davis Fire Department responds in addition to the ambulance. Every UC Davis Firefighter is a certified EMT, and is able to provide medical care prior to the arrival of the ambulance.
  
  Time is critical for someone who has experienced a heart attack, injury, or other illness that makes the person stop breathing. The heart and brain have a better chance of full recovery if they receive oxygen in as soon as possible. Without it, a person can suffer irreversible brain damage or death. Our firefighter can use life-saving techniques including defibrillation to help prevent death or permanent injury. These life-saving techniques are much more effective the sooner they are provided to the patient. This is also why the UC Davis Fire Department promotes CPR/AED training for members of our community, in support of the Cardiac Chain of Survival.
• Why does the Fire Department bring the fire engine just for a simple building walk-through?
• Two reasons: First, these walk-throughs are conducted by on-duty fire companies that must be ready to respond to an emergency call from the field. Second, an important part of the value of the building walk-through is to familiarize your local firefighters with the buildings on campus. While they check for hazards and consult with occupants on how best to eliminate or minimize the likelihood of a fire, they also familiarize themselves with access points and the layout of the facility
• Why do firefighters break out windows and cut holes in the roof during a fire?
• Firefighters ventilate smoke, superheated, poisonous, or explosive gases for safety and visibility. This allows firefighters to get inside the building to search for occupants as well as find and extinguish the fire, thereby reducing property damage.
• Why do you block traffic lanes at auto accidents, sometimes more lanes than necessary?
• We block traffic lanes for the safety of our personnel and our patients. Blocking extra lanes keep our personnel safe when they go back to our apparatus to get more equipment and help protect the victim we are trying to stabilize. Nation-wide, over 25 firefighters are killed or injured each year while working at incidents on streets and highways.
• Why am I not supposed to drive over a firehose?
• Firefighters are very concerned about running over firehoses because the hose can be damaged and any firefighter at the end of a nozzle will have the water interrupted and possibly cause injuries or death. Any hose that is driven over without protection has to be taken out of service and tested.
• What if I smell gas in my home/workplace?
• You should get out of the house and then call 9-1-1 from outside of the house or from a neighbor's house. The use of a phone could cause the gas to ignite if you call from inside the house.
• Why do we see fire department crews at the store?
• Because the crews work a 48-hour shift, they must eat their meals at the station. At times firefighters all eat the same meal, as a group. The crews pay for their food out of their own pockets. So, after the equipment is checked and their station duties completed, one of the fire apparatus may then make a quick trip to the grocery store to purchase food for the shift. All crews remain in service to respond to calls during this time.
• What other responsibilities do firefighters have other than fighting fires?
• The number of residential and commercial fires has steadily decreased over the years due to a variety of factors including improvements in construction, a greater public awareness of the risk factors leading to fires, and a significant reduction in smoking nationwide. Fires, however, are only some of the emergencies to which the Fire Department responds. Nearly sixty percent of the Fire Department's emergency responses are, in fact, calls for medical aid, including illness/accidents at home and work, and injuries resulting from vehicle crashes.
  
  Other calls for emergency response involve hazardous materials releases, technical rescues, response to fire alarms and other calls for public assistance. Firefighters also spend much of their time maintaining equipment, community outreach events, training for all types of emergency responses and completing reports associated with these activities.
• What should I do when I see or hear an emergency vehicle coming towards me when I'm driving?
• When it is safe to do so, you should pull over to the right and stop until all emergency vehicles have safely passed. If you cannot safely maneuver to the right, simply stop and stay stopped so the vehicles can go around you safely.
• My smoke detector is chirping, what does that mean?
• Most modern smoke detectors will chirp to alert you the batteries are low, you should replace the batteries and test your smoke detector. Smoke detectors can be purchased at any hardware or large commercial department store. If you live in a University-affiliated building, you should alert your appropriate building supervisor (through your Resident Adviser, leasing office, etc.)
• Why do fire trucks with lights and sirens go through red lights at intersections and then, after they go through, turn off their lights and slow down?
• Emergency lights and siren are used only when responding to a call. Sometimes several units are dispatched to the same incident. When the first unit arrives on the scene, they may assess the situation and inform the Dispatch that they can handle the emergency. All other responding units are then canceled and put back into service, ready to take another call.
• Why do I see fire trucks from different cities responding to calls here?
• The UC Davis Fire Department participates in an automatic aid agreement with cities all over the region. If UC Davis Fire Department apparatus is already assigned to an incident, or temporarily out of service, the next nearest apparatus will be dispatched. That apparatus may belong to the City of Davis Fire Department, or another of our auto-aid partners, such as the Woodland Fire Department or the West Sacramento Fire Department.
• How much will I be charged if the UC Davis Fire Department responds when I call 9-1-1?
• Our services are paid through funds received by the University of California. On-campus students, staff, faculty, and visitors are not charged for fire protection services.
  
  However, if you require emergency transportation via ambulance or helicopter those entities will charge for the services they render. Ground ambulance rates are set by Yolo County's contracted service provider, American Medical Response (AMR). Air Ambulance rates are not regulated by any government agency. Because these services are provided by third parties we are unable to wave, reduce, or alter the costs billed.

Employment and Training

• What qualifications are needed to apply to be a UC Davis firefighter?
• Qualifications for positions within the fire department are position-specific, but entry-level firefighters are required to possess a current Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) card at the time of application and testing.
• What is the process of becoming a UC Davis firefighter?
• 1) Complete an online application during an open recruitment process.
  2) Bring a valid CPAT card and take a written test.
  3) Top scoring band candidates are invited to interview panels.
  4) The top ten scoring candidates from the panel interviews move on to Chief's interviews.
  5) A conditional job offer is made.
  6) Background check, criminal history check, pre-employment physical, and respirator fit test are completed.
  7) Candidates complete an intensive 28-week academy provided by the City of Sacramento Fire Department.
  8) If the candidate doesn't already have EMT certification it is provided.
  9) Candidates are placed on their permanent assignments.
• How do I become a student firefighter or student EMT at UC Davis?
• Please see the FOR STUDENTS portion of our website.
• When will the UC Davis Fire Department be testing for firefighters?
• Please see the University’s Employment Opportunities web page for current job openings.
• Can I volunteer as a firefighter at UC Davis?
• The UC Davis Fire Department does not currently have a volunteer firefighter program. However, we do have a Student Firefighter program, Student EMT program, and a Fire Explorer program.
• Do you have a program for young adults (junior high/high school aged)  interested in the fire service?
• Yes, the UC Davis Fire Department has two programs of interest. The Student Resident Firefighter program is intended for current UC Davis students, while our Fire Explorer program is intended for high school students interested in pursuing a career in fire and emergency services.

Fire Prevention Services/Campus Fire Marshal

• Is Fire Prevention Services/Campus Fire Marshal's Office part of the UC Davis Fire Department?
• No, while we enjoy a close working relationship with our colleagues in Fire Prevention Services, their office falls under the Safety Services unit of the university. They were moved out of the fire department to be better aligned organizationally where the same compliance/regulatory function is found at the other UC campuses. Learn more, or request their services, by visiting their website.
• I need to speak to someone regarding a plan review, construction documents, suppression or alarm system, fire code, or fire inspection issue - who do I contact?
• Just send a simple email here detailing your question or request.
• I have a question, issue, concern, or need training on how to use a fire extinguisher - who do I contact?
• Just send a simple email here detailing your question or request.
• I work at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, who do I contact for Fire Prevention services here?
• Just send a simple email here detailing your question or request.