fire department
Americannoun
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the department of a municipal government charged with the prevention and extinguishing of fire.
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the personnel in such a department.
noun
Etymology
Origin of fire department
An Americanism dating back to 1815–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
GEO Group is currently fighting the City of Newark over the municipality’s right to require a certificate of occupancy and regular fire department inspections of the massive congregant care site.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
The emergency started Thursday, when the fire department responded to a vapor leak from a 34,000-gallon tank at a Garden Grove, Calif., plant belonging to GKN Aerospace, a British maker of jet parts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
Heidi Oliva, a spokesperson for the county fire department, did not respond to questions about this inaccuracy in the report.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
The captain of the regional fire department, Álvaro Farfán, said emergency workers were still working to retrieve the miners' bodies.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
You’re always on call, just like the fire department is always on call.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
