Bristol Fire Department

Bristol Fire Department traces its roots to 1853, when local business leaders formed the department in response to a series of damaging manufacturing fires in the city. Today the department carries on that mission with 87 sworn members serving the city's approximately 62,000 residents, along with the employees and visitors who come to Bristol's businesses and attractions each day.

The department operates from four engine companies located throughout the city — Engine 2 on Hill Street, Engine 3 in the Forestville section, Engine 4 alongside the department's training facility on Vincent P. Kelly Road, and Engine 5 on Mix Street. Beyond emergency response, the department runs community-facing programs such as Community Connect, which lets residents share household emergency information with responders in advance, along with youth-oriented outreach through its Firehawks program and the Molly in the Community initiative.

Firefighter candidates apply through the City of Bristol's online employment portal, where a fully completed application is required for each position applied to. Testing procedures are detailed in a separate Firefighter Testing Summary document available in the city's Document Center.