Programs

The Abilene Fire Department is active in the Abilene community. As part of AFD's mission, we strive to deliver the highest quality service by protecting our community through risk reduction, emergency response, and public service.

Part of this process comes by the way of a variety of programs:

TIFMAS

Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) is maintained by Texas A&M Forest Service. The program includes grants, training and qualifications and mobilization systems to make statewide use of local resources. 

HAZMAT

The Abilene Fire Department maintains a HAZMAT team within the City of Abilene. HAZMAT is an abbreviation for “hazardous materials”—substances in quantities or forms that may pose a reasonable risk to health, property, or the environment. HAZMATs include such substances as toxic chemicals, fuels, nuclear waste products, and biological, chemical, and radiological agents. 

Swift Water Rescue Team

The Abilene Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue program is housed at Station 2. Crews at this station have been specially trained to perform rescues and recoveries in a moving water based environment. Making use of specialized equipment, advanced rope techniques and boat-based rescue these crews are called into action whenever a life is at stake in a flood situation or fast moving water. 

Fitness

Station 3 is home to the Abilene Fire Department’s Fitness program. Crews at this station are certified A.C.E. Fitness personal trainers. They administer our annual KORR tests and develop fitness programs for personnel. 

Fleet

The Abilene Fire Fleet Facility or “Triple F” performs the maintenance and repair of our entire fire apparatus fleet. Our Emergency Vehicle Technicians, Alfonso McGinley and Travis Abernathy work under the leadership of Stephen Hughes (EVT III), who has been keeping us on the roads since 1995. Our EVTs repair and maintain all of our motorized vehicles and equipment, this includes our staff vehicles and our rescue equipment like the “Jaws of Life”. 

Public Information Officer

The public information officer plays a major role in communicating fire safety and prevention information to the public as an organizational spokesperson. They also prepare and publish press releases and manage the organization's social media accounts. 

The PIO serves as the public’s point of contact for scheduling tours at any of our stations along with classroom and event demonstrations. 

IT

In Abilene our emergency services rely heavily on technology to help us respond quickly and safely to emergencies. From the second you pick up the phone to call 911, to our on scene arrival and your transport to the hospital, we use numerous computer programs and technologies to ensure you receive emergency care as soon as possible. 

Computer aided dispatch programs help call takers direct the right equipment to the right call, and in some cases, provide the caller with instructions on medical care they can initiate before we even arrive. Medical software on our laptops help us to accurately and efficiently manage your health information which can then be seamlessly transferred between the fire department, Metrocare and the Hendrick Health systems. 

Our trucks are equipped with GPS to help dispatch send the closest appropriate unit to any type of emergency. We rely on our radios to communicate on the way to calls and on scene. Reliable and clear communication is a necessity whether on a highway accident scene or inside of a burning building. Firefighter Bobby Ditmore is the guy we call when our equipment isn’t working right.