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

The local fire department said a second-floor section collapsed, leaving multiple people trapped inside as emergency responders worked to free them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 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

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

Eight people were removed from the Kodiak 100 seaplane by fire department units and two had minor injures and refused medical attention.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

A man in a baseball cap added, “The fire department is just as helpless as we are. The gas line broke, too, and the gas is feeding the flames.”

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret