History

The Redondo Beach Fire Department has a history which goes back to the beginning of the City of Redondo Beach itself. In 1892, newspapers first reported a move to organize a group of volunteers to run a fire brigade. They were all citizens and prominent entrepreneurs of the city and were on-hand anytime the fire bell rang out -- day or night. They would rush to the nearest of two hand-pulled hose carts and run to the fire with the equipment. It stayed this way until 1907 when there was a call for reorganization and the purchase of modern firefighting equipment.

The City was far behind the larger cities in this area and needed to buy a motorized fire engine. The first fire truck was a converted Vim-brand truck with a ladder, chemical tank, and fire hoses on it. Finally, in 1921 the department was able to purchase a brand new American LaFrance 750-gallon per minute (gpm) pumper, their pride and joy. Today, well over 100 years later the Redondo Beach Fire Department recently took delivery of its newest addition to the fleet, a 1500 gpm Pierce pumper. 

Patrick Butler currently serves as Fire Chief/Harbor Master of the Redondo Beach Fire Department. Chief Butler is supported by three (3) Division Chiefs: (Operations Chief, Fire Marshal, and Special Services/Disaster Preparedness). All Division Chiefs work a 56-hour schedule and are assigned to a specific platoon. More than half of RBFD members are college graduates and over ninety percent are currently certified Paramedics.

   
In 1972, the Redondo Beach Fire Department made history by becoming one of the first of two independent Cities in Los Angeles County to send firefighters to Paramedic school. The Department also maintains, through a contractual agreement, a part-time nurse practitioner who provides EMT and Paramedic continuing education training to Fire Department members.

As our Department continues to move forward, the department looks forward to future growth and technology implementations that will improve service delivery to our community.