Overview & Mission
• Marion County Fire Rescue is a “progressive, professional fire rescue department” committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of Marion County’s residents.
• It emphasizes not only emergency response, but also education, prevention, and community partnership.
Size & Jurisdiction
• MCFR serves approximately 1,600 square miles of Marion County.
• It serves nearly 440,000 residents.
• It is one of the largest fire rescue departments in the region (second largest north of Orlando) with over 800 employees and an annual budget around $130 million.
• On average, MCFR handles about 265 emergency responses per day.
Capabilities & Services
Emergency Response Types
MCFR crews respond to a wide variety of incidents, including:
• Structure, vehicle, and brush fires
• Medical emergencies (cardiac, respiratory, trauma)
• Vehicle accidents (including extrication)
• Hazardous materials incidents
• Natural disasters and mutual aid requests.
EMS / Medical Services
• All MCFR firefighters are dual-certified — i.e. they are either state-certified paramedics or EMTs — so that fire and medical response are integrated.
• MCFR operates an Advanced Life Support (ALS) system, enabling paramedics to perform advanced interventions in the field as an extension of hospital care.
• In 2024, a new Critical Care Ambulance (“Critical Care #1 Transport”) was introduced to enhance on-road critical patient care.
Stations & Apparatus
• MCFR has 32 fire stations and 3 EMS stations spread across Marion County.
• The department uses a fleet of engines, ladder/tower trucks, tankers, brush trucks, and specialized units (hazmat, technical rescue) to meet different incident needs.
• For example, one station houses a 78-foot ladder truck, and there are currently two tower trucks in service.
• Tanker trucks are used to shuttle water to scenes lacking hydrant access; MCFR has several such units and has plans to acquire more.
• Stations are geographically distributed; e.g. Station 28 (Rolling Greens), Station 2 in Citra, Station 24 in Marion Oaks, Station 11 (North Marion), and others.
Performance & Call Volume
• In January 2024 alone, MCFR responded to 6,428 calls.
• Of these, 4,792 were medical calls
• 61 were structure fires
• 772 were traffic or vehicle crash calls
• MCFR carries the largest territory among public safety agencies in Marion County in terms of daily coverage and number of calls.
Community Engagement & Support
• Beyond emergency response, MCFR is active in community programs: fire prevention education, safety campaigns, donation drives, seasonal charitable efforts (toys, clothing), and local events.
• The department also invests in training, readiness, and maintaining rigorous standards for its personnel.
• The county has used “Penny sales tax” revenues to fund station remodels, new stations, and upgrades in apparatus.
