North Richland Hills Fire Department

North Richland Hills Fire Department traces back to volunteer grass-fire response in the mid-1940s in what was then Smithfield, growing out of a converted-vehicle fleet and neighboring mutual aid after the city's 1953 incorporation. The city hired its first paid firefighters, Ray Rhine and Gene Butler, in 1965, and by late 1969 moved to the 24-hours-on/48-hours-off shift schedule still used today; EMS was added to the department's mission in 1977.

Under a succession of chiefs the department grew from roughly 70 members and four stations in the 1970s-90s to a five-station, 98-firefighter organization today, improving the city's fire insurance classification along the way to an ISO Class 1 rating. All sworn members are cross-trained as firefighter/paramedics or EMTs, an integrated fire-EMS model the department highlights in its own public FAQ on why an engine responds alongside the ambulance.

Beyond structural fire and EMS response, NRHFD fields technical rescue, hazmat, swiftwater rescue, and bomb/explosives response capabilities, and it participates in the multi-jurisdictional Northeast Fire Department Association (NEFDA) to share training, equipment, and personnel across the region. The department also runs Citizens Fire Academy and Junior Fire Academy community programs and holds a 'Recognized' designation from the Texas Fire Chiefs Association Best Practices Recognition Program.

NRHFD hires certified firefighter/paramedics, firefighter/EMTs, or paramedics (paramedics complete firefighter certification training after hire) into a civil-service sworn pay plan, with a written exam and physical agility test administered through Tarrant County College's Fire Service Training Center.