About Us

The City of Olivette Fire Department is located west of the City of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, spanning over about 2.95 square miles with a population of 7,573. The Olivette fire department also provides fire and EMS services to the Elmwood Park community in unincorporated St. Louis County to the north of the City.

Staff

The Fire Department is a career department with a staff of 23. The Fire Chief is the highest ranking fire official and serves as the Department Head and a member of the City Manager's staff. The Assistant Fire Chief is second in command of the Department, responsible for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operation of the Department, and  helps with the daily administrative tasks.

Shifts

We have 3 shifts and each shift has seven personnel assigned that provide services year-round. The Department is staffed 100% by firefighters who are also licensed by the State of Missouri as paramedics. There are always (at least) a minimum of 5 firefighters on duty. Each shift has 1 Captain who is the shift supervisor and responsible for the day-to-day tasks of the department, 1 Lieutenant who is responsible for daily EMS activities and serves as the second supervisor, and 5 paramedics/firefighters.

Each shift works 2 24-hour shifts back-to-back, known as the 48/96 shift, followed by 4 days off. Firefighters work an average of 56 hours per week. The Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief work 8-hour days, five days a week, and are on call to respond back to the City when emergencies dictate. The Chief's secretary works half-time for the Fire Department and half-time for the Public Works department.

Emergency Calls

The Department responds to 1,200-1,300 calls for emergencies each year from the single fire station on Olive Boulevard. Responses are made with 1 fire truck and 1 ambulance. Until November 2010, the Department relied on a private ambulance service to provide EMS transport services. In November 2010, the Department put into service its first ambulance and began providing transport services, thus providing premium pre-hospital care all the way from the place of emergency to the emergency room.

Insurance Rating

The Department is rated "3" by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The ISO rates fire departments from 1 through 10 with 1 as the highest rating. Most of the St. Louis County fire departments are rated as "3." The importance of this rating is that many insurance companies base their fire insurance rates on the department's ISO rating. This rating is based on several factors of your fire department, including the number of full-time firefighters and their training, response time, number of fire stations and their location, firefighting apparatus equipment, and fire prevention.