Nine fire fighters were killed in the Halifax Explosion, the most ever at a single event in Canada.

The department is currently led by Fire Chief Ken Stuebing, Deputies Peter Andrews, Dave Meldrum, Roy Hollett and Corey Beals.

In 2011, a museum to commemorate the history of fire fighting in Nova Scotia, with special attention to the Halifax region was opened in Fall River, Nova Scotia named the Regional Firefighters Interpretation Centre.

Communities and neighbourhoods are covered by this division in Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, Eastern Passage, Westphal, Cole Harbour and Lower Sackville.

Under the Federal USAR Task Force program, HRFE had been designated as CAN TF-5, one of 5 HUSAR teams from across Canada.