Emergency Services

Comprehensive Emergency Services

The Garden City Fire Department was established in 1962, and serves the citizens of Garden City from a central station on Middlebelt at Dawson. The department is directed by Fire Chief Catherine Harman and is comprised of 21 full-time firefighter-paramedics divided up into 3 platoons who work 24-hour shifts in rotation with each other. Three Captains are second in command. They along with our Lieutenants oversee day-to-day emergency operations.

Fire Suppression

The traditional focal point of the Fire Department of operations, Fire Suppression remains an important component of the services we provide. Firefighters train regularly and maintain modern equipment for handling fire emergencies, although they account for less than 20 percent of our emergency run volume. Our capabilities have been significantly enhanced over the past 10 years through the acquisition of a 2023 Sutphen custom-built 75' quint aerial truck that allows us to rapidly reach the second and third floors of houses and commercial buildings throughout our community. Our 2013 Sutphen custom-built engine includes firefighting foam capability, which proves highly effective in extinguishing fires more quickly and with less water damage.

Emergency Medical Services

The American Heart Associations' Chain of Survival identifies 4 components that must be in place to achieve maximum survival from cardiac arrest. The first link is Early Access. Garden City addresses this with an Enhanced 911 system, staffed by experienced telecommunicators who are in direct contact with our EMS personnel. The second link is Early CPR. Early Defibrillation is the third link and Early Advanced Care is the fourth. Both of these are well covered with the response of our Advanced Life Support Rescue and ALS engine to all medical emergency runs. ALS is the highest possible level of pre-hospital emergency care. Garden City's emergency response vehicles also carry a LUCAS device, a LUCAS device that provides uninterrupted continuous cardiac compressions throughout the code or CPR event.

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Garden City enjoys one of the country's highest survival rates for cardiac arrest victims. By equipping and staffing both first line units at the advanced level, we assure only the finest care for our citizens. Public Safety should be paramount in the planning for any community. Garden City takes this responsibility very seriously by providing a full-time professional fire and emergency services department that can respond to medical emergencies anywhere in town in about four minutes. Upon arrival, highly-trained firefighter-paramedics can institute lifesaving airway control techniques, IV therapy, heart monitoring and defibrillation, as well as administer medications before initiating transportation to local hospitals.

By providing both initial response and transport with cross-trained firefighter-paramedics, Garden City can maintain control over the quality of its emergency medical response system. Our first-line fire engine is equipped and staffed similarly to our rescue units, giving residents a highly versatile emergency service.

Specialized Emergency Services

All Garden City firefighters are trained and certified in Hazardous Materials emergency response to the Operations level, with some members advancing their training to the Specialist level. Garden City is a member of the Western Wayne County Fire Mutual Aid Hazardous Incident Response Team, and can call upon the teams expertise and equipment to supplement our local resources when necessary. Garden City firefighters have also completed training in Intermediate Confined Space Rescue techniques. From ropes and knots to air supply systems and entry procedures, expert instructors shared vital information enabling us to save lives in these kinds of incidents. The department is not a designated MiOSHA Confined Space rescue service.
Garden City is an active member of the