fire department

American  

noun

fire departments plural

1. the department of a municipal government charged with the prevention and extinguishing of fire.

2. the personnel in such a department.

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fire department British  

noun

1. the department of a local authority responsible for the prevention and extinguishing of fires

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fire departments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fire department

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fire department

A number of police officers as well as rescue units from the fire department have been deployed to the area.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

When your home is burning, and the local fire department doesn’t show up, it burns down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

With the help of City Manager Antony Lopez, he and other city officials set out to launch their own fire department.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

The building’s solar array had a shutdown switch that firefighters flipped when the most recent blaze began, according to the fire department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

The stable had been destroyed, along with the fire department and almost every other building around that part of the waterfront.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis