St. Bernard Parish Fire Department

St. Bernard Parish Fire Department traces its roots to 1874, when volunteer Fire Chief J.N. Augustin led 80 volunteers under the St. Bernard Steam Engine Fire Company No. 1 during the Reconstruction era. The department turned professional in 1952 with the creation of Fire Districts 1 and 2, consolidating under a single command in 1977, and has since answered major industrial fires including a 1983 Tenneco Oil Refinery tank fire once considered the largest tank fire extinguished in the world.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 devastated the department, destroying all ten of its stations and roughly 70 percent of its apparatus, and required firefighters to rescue an estimated 7,000 residents during the storm. The department rebuilt over the following years and has continued to respond to subsequent disasters, including Hurricane Ida in 2020 and tornadoes in 2022, while also standing up a NASA Michoud Assembly Facility contract that added a dedicated station and 18 positions.

Today the department operates from 11 stations across Arabi, Chalmette, Meraux, Violet, and St. Bernard, plus the NASA Michoud facility, staffed by roughly 108 uniformed personnel delivering fire suppression, emergency medical care, and fire prevention services parish-wide.

Firefighter candidates must first pass the state Civil Service Exam with a minimum score of 75%, then apply online, before proceeding through interviews, a timed 1.5-mile run, drug screening, physical exam, and background check ahead of a conditional job offer and Recruit Academy.