Mission:

The Sturbridge Fire Department is a public safety organization that provides fire, rescue, and emergency medical services to a diverse community. We are committed to the preservation of life, property, and the environment. Through public education and awareness programs, we enhance the quality of life and the safety of the citizens we proudly serve.

It is the vision of the Sturbridge Fire Department to provide the safest living and working environment by eliminating the loss of life and property from fire. We want to prevent injuries through educational partnerships with our community.

The Sturbridge Fire Department has a long-standing tradition of service, and has been held in high regard amongst the members of its community for years. The Sturbridge Fire Department serves our community by providing fire, rescue and emergency medical services to the town 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The fire department works out of the firehouse located within the Sturbridge Public Safety Complex, at 346 Main St., near the intersection of Rtes. 131 and 20.

The Sturbridge Fire Department is comprised of twenty-three members, including the Fire Chief, a permanent Captain, a call Captain; two call Lieutenants, five permanent firefighters, and fourteen call firefighters. All but two of the members are trained as “Firefighter/EMTs”, and can perform dual duties of both the firefighter as well as the trained emergency medical technician who responds to medical calls with the ambulance. There are two firefighters on duty in the station at all times. The Chief is on duty during the days, Monday through Friday. Personnel are broken down into three Engine companies who respond to all types of alarms of fire. A single Engine company may be called to respond to auto fires, fire alarm activations, carbon monoxide incidents, and fuel spills. An “All call”, which summons all three Engine companies, is transmitted when there is a serious fire or other large scale incident such as multi-vehicle car accident where extrication tools may be needed to disentangle a car from a patient. The Fire Department’s workload has been steadily increasing over the last few years. Last year, the fire department responded to 528 fire related calls, a 7% increase over the previous year’s runs.

The Sturbridge Fire Ambulance has been in service since December of 1959. The ambulance service of those days was a far cry from today’s technological advances. Ambulance attendants, as they were referred to, needed only obtain an American Red Cross basic first aid card to join an ambulance crew. Today, an Emergency Medical Technician must take an EMT course that lasts a minimum of 110 hours of classroom training, put in observation time in the hospital, and must also put in time observing EMTs treating patients in the field before they are even allowed to take a State level certification test. Today, our ambulance service has the capabilities to bring part of the Emergency room to your home. We have the ability to cardio-convert rhythms that may lead to certain cardiac death with the Defibrillator. We are able to place endotracheal breathing tubes into the patient’s windpipe to gain optimum control of a patient’s airway; we are able to administer a life-saving injection of epinephrine in cases of anaphylactic shock (bee stings is common). We are able to start intravenous fluids (IV) so that lifesaving drugs can be administered as soon as the patient reaches the Emergency room. We take our jobs very seriously, and are constantly training on the newest and best methods to save a life. The Sturbridge Fire Ambulance has always been on the cutting edge of new advances. We are currently field-testing a new oxygen delivery device as part of a worldwide sanctioned study. There are only six cities in this country where the new devices are being used, and Sturbridge is one of the test sites! Last year, the Sturbridge Fire Ambulance responded to 906 calls for service.

All Sturbridge Firefighters are also active in the community. The department has a member assigned to SAFE duty at Burgess Elementary School, and the program is well received. Members also conduct the “Jason Chamberland Memorial Fire Program” during fire prevention week, which targets very impressionable first graders. The department, in conjunction with the local Lions Club, put on a Halloween Horribles parade every year, to help keep our precious children safe during Halloween. And Santa always rides into Town atop one of our shiny rigs every year! Department members have generously given of their time over the years; for example the building of the Miracle Maze playground, or rebuilding the dugouts at the baseball field. Our members really do care about the community and it’s citizens!