The officers and members the Pasadena (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department thank you for learning about what makes us proud to serve the citizens of Pasadena!

PVFD is the largest single-municipality, all volunteer, fire department in the United States. Its membership includes over 200 active and 50 semi-active Firefighters. The department responds to approximately 170 alarms per month within the almost 60 square miles of the City of Pasadena, plus it's Mutual Aid Agreement areas. Pasadena is the 159th largest city in the United States, next to its namesake city, Pasadena, California.

PVFD maintains over 40 pieces of rolling stock, as well as multiple boats, housed in 9 stations, with one additional headquarters building. The oldest apparatus in the fleet is Pasadena's very first fire engine, a 1929 American LaFrance pumper that is nicknamed "Old Betsy". This classic "ALF" still drives in local parades and to special events in the community. A state of the art, live fire, burn building and fire behavior simulator is located at PVFD's training field.

The City of Pasadena was incorporated in 1928, and the PVFD established in 1930 with a membership of 25 Firefighters. PVFD is the lead agency for Fire Suppression, Technical Rescue, and Hazardous Materials incident response for the City of Pasadena, Texas, but has Mutual Aid Agreements with all of its neighboring cities as well as many other nearby municipal and industrial fire departments. Emergency Medical Services are provided by a third service private ambulance service under contract to the City of Pasadena.

PVFD provides mutual aid protection to Ellington Field, NASA's Johnson Space Center, and the University of Houston-Clear Lake. It is also an active member of the Channel Industrial Mutual Aid (CIMA) organization, which is a conglomeration of municipal and industrial fire departments that respond to the numerous petrochemical plants in the region.

PVFD is a progressive department that prides itself on partaking in aggressive interior attacks on fire to protect life and property. We also live by the axiom that we "risk a lot to save a lot and we risk little to save little". The highways and industry in PVFD's district also tax the department's technical rescue abilities on a regular basis.

PVFD members are trained in the department's Fire Academy and then assigned to the fire station they live closest to. All members are encouraged to further their training each Monday night at their station's drill sessions. Members of the service are also invited to attend classes at Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), the Texas A&M Fire School, CIMA classes and drills, as well as classes given by other agencys.

The command structure of the fire department includes the the Chief of Department, Assistant Chief, an Executive Board, Pension Board, Secretary, Treasurer, and an Assistant Secretary/Treasurer. It also maintains a Training Staff, Medical Officer, Supply Officer, and Reporter/Historian. Rounding out it's support staff is the Safety Staff, Chaplain Corps, Public Liaison Officer and Information Technology Officer. PVFD is also the parent organization to the Pasadena Fire Marshal's Office, which handles inspections, fire prevention, and cause and origin investigations. 

  View biography of Chief Lanny Armstrong HERE.