Fire Administration is made up of the leadership of the Evanston Fire Department, including the Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, two Division Chiefs, and two civilian staff. Collectively, Fire Administration coordinates the overarching planning, budgeting, and logistics of the department.

Fire Administration also interacts with the public through a handful of processes such as:

• Fulfilling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
• Maintaining Fire Alarm Registrations
• Receiving sharps/needles containers for disposal (sharps must be dropped off in a sealed sharps container)
• Addressing questions and concerns for the Fire Department filed through Evanston 311

The Fire Prevention Bureau's main objective is fire prevention and awareness through a proactive approach to fire and life safety. This is accomplished through:

• Enforcement of Fire, Building, and the Life Safety Code
• Investigating of fires for cause and origin
• Fire and life safety inspections
• Construction and certificate of occupancy inspections
• Plan review of all new construction
• Witnessing the testing of all fire and life safety systems such as fire alarms, emergency lighting, sprinklers, etc.
• Public education and fire safety awareness programs.

The Fire Prevention Bureau is also responsible for the record keeping of fire reports and the monthly statistical report, State reporting, computer technology for the Fire Department, and responding to citizens inquires and concerns. We also provide public information during and after incidents.

To learn more about Fire Alarm Permits, click here.

To learn more about Plans Review, click here.

To learn how to obtain a copy of Fire Investigation Report, click here.

Fire Suppression is the largest division of the Fire Department. Personnel in this division work on a 24 hours on/48 hours off basis, consisting of three shifts: Shift 1 (Gold), Shift 2 (Black), Shift 3 (Red).

While on duty, they are responsible for responding to all emergency calls including, but not limited to:

• fires
• explosions
• rescues accidents
• medical emergencies
• carbon monoxide investigations
• lockouts
• lock-ins
• assist police calls
• downed trees and power lines
• odor investigations

This Division participates in various training exercises to maintain their skills in a variety of disciplines. Members of the Fire Suppression also make up our special operations teams:

• Water Rescue
• Dive Rescue
• TRT Rescue
• HazMat

The City of Evanston Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) goal is to ensure the City’s readiness to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from the effects of major emergency/disaster that threaten lives, property, and the environment by:

1. Conducting a comprehensive risk analysis of our community.

2. Providing a comprehensive safety preparedness education programs for the citizens including our special needs population and long term care facilities.

3. Training City staff in their roles and responsibilities regarding emergencies/disasters.

4. Ensuring collaboration and inter-agency coordination to assist in the City’s emergency management efforts

 More details on the Office of Emergency Management can be found here.

The Evanston Fire Department began lifeguard operations at the City's five beaches in 2023. Each year the City hires approximately 100 lifeguards (including supervisors, managers and coordinators) to serve and protect the lakefront. For information about the hiring process, please see the "Employment" tab to the left.