Lastly, the department enforces all state and federal hazardous materials (HAZMAT) regulations within the city, and coordinates the response to such incidents.

An ordinance of 29 December 1870, established Philadelphia's first fully paid and municipally controlled fire department, administered by seven commissioners chosen by Councils.

The fire marshal, first appointed on 1864, was a member of the Bureau of Police until 1937 when his office was removed from it and placed directly under the Director of the Department of Public Safety.

Today, there still remains one volunteer fire company, the Philadelphia Second Alarmers, which provides rehabilitation and refreshment support.

After the Insurance Companies raised premiums and eventually refused to write new policies in the Downtown section of Philadelphia the City finally commissioned the installation of the High-Pressure Fire System in 1901.

This expansion also included a reservoir located at 6th & Leigh Avenue fed by a large service main under Broad Street.

Additional expansions were made to the original system to cover the area from the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers from Girard Avenue to South Street.

[12] Chief Engineers Fire Commissioners [13] The Philadelphia Fire Department is the sponsoring agency for Urban Search and Rescue Pennsylvania Task Force 1 (PA-TF1), one of twenty-eight FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces in the nation and the only one in Pennsylvania.

[14] Below is a complete listing of all fire station and equipment locations in the city of Philadelphia along with their Division and Battalion.