01Structure Firefighting
Homes, businesses, and outbuildings in the city and beyond. Our Type 1 engines carry a 1,500 GPM pump, foam, and thermal imaging to find fire — and people — in the dark.
Payette City & Rural Fire · Est. 1895Ready when Payette needs us.
Two departments, one crew — protecting the city of Payette and the Oregon Slope. The homes, the farms, and the people who count on them. Every call, every day.
Our Mission
Serve with excellence. Make bad situations better.
Those are our own words, and we mean them as a job description. When someone calls us, they're usually having the hardest day they'll have all year. Our work is to show up ready, do it right, and leave things better than we found them.
That work covers the city of Payette and the rural ground around it — the farms and homes of the Oregon Slope, along the Snake River. It has looked different in every decade since 1895, but the reason for it never changes: protect life and property, prevent fires before they start, and keep our neighbors from harm.
Chartered 1895 · A century and a third of answering the call.
Answering the callSince 1895Permits
Need a burn permit?
All burning inside Payette city limits requires a permit. Start it here — most are issued the same day at the station or City Hall.
Current burn status
No burn ban currently in effect.
Last updated [date]
Not yet wired to a real source
A burn ban usually takes effect around mid-June. Rules change with weather and fire danger — always confirm no ban is in effect the day you plan to burn.
Questions? Call the station at 208·642·6028 before you light anything.
Before you light anything
Recreational fire
Backyard fire pit or chiminea — a permit is good for up to 90 days.
Open burning
Natural yard debris only — permit good up to 5 days, dawn to dusk.
Weather limits
No open burning when it's over 90°F or the wind tops 10 mph.
Event bonfires
Apply at least a week ahead; good only on the day of the event.
Burn barrels
Strictly prohibited for trash inside the city. No exceptions.
Always attended
An adult 18+ must stay with the fire, water or extinguisher on hand.
Call Volume
Every call, counted.
We've tracked every run since 2012. Demand has climbed nearly every year — here's the shape of the work, by year and by month.
0
Emergency calls in 2025
Up from 1,364 in 2024 — a steady, rising demand we answer around the clock.
0
Training hours in 2025
1,983.87 hours on the drill ground in 2025 — before the tones ever drop.
134
Calls a month, on average
Better than four runs a day, every day of the year.
Calls by year
Total emergency responses per calendar year
20211,188 calls
20221,275 calls
20231,490 calls
20241,364 calls
20251,607 calls
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Busiest year: 2025 — 1,607 calls.
2023, 2024 and 2025 totals are confirmed by the department. Earlier years shown here still need to be verified against the run log.
What We Do
One department. Many kinds of trouble.
A fire call is only part of it. When you dial 911 in Payette, this is what rolls out the door.
01
02Wildland & Brush
Grass, range, and field fires across the rural Slope. We run a large rural fleet built to reach fires far from a hydrant and carry the water in with us, so we can keep them small.
03Emergency Medical & Quick Response
Often first on scene, our Quick Response Unit carries an AED, oxygen, and pediatric gear to stabilize patients until the ambulance arrives. On a medical call, minutes are everything.
04Technical Rescue
Vehicle extrication with Hurst tools, plus swift water, ice, rope, and heavy rescue. When someone is trapped or the water is rising, this is the crew that goes in and gets them out.
05Hazmat Operations
Spills, leaks, and unknown substances. We identify the hazard, contain it, and keep it from reaching people, homes, or the river.
06Fire Prevention
Commercial inspections, free courtesy inspections, code enforcement, and public education. The fire that never starts is the one we're proudest of.
From the Fire Chief
Draft · These are not the chief’s words. This is a starting point for him to rewrite in his own voice, and the department still needs to confirm who to credit it to. Nothing here should be published under anyone’s name until he has written and approved it.
Photo to come
A word from our chief.
Payette has had a fire department since 1895. In that time the trucks have changed, the gear has changed, and the calls have changed — but the promise behind them hasn't. When you dial 911, someone from this town is coming.
Most of the people who answer that call are volunteers. They leave dinner, they leave bed, they leave their own families to look after yours. I have never once had to ask twice.
If this site does its job, you will find what you need here — a burn permit, a smoke detector, a tour for your kid's class, or an application to stand with us. And if you ever need the other thing we do, we'll be there for that too.
[Chief's name — to be confirmed]
Fire Chief, Payette Fire Department
The Fleet
The right rig for the call.
You can't fight a river rescue with a brush truck. Our fleet spans reserve rigs from the '80s and '90s to brand-new engines — city and rural — every one checked, stocked, and ready to roll.
Ladder 611
E-One 75-foot aerial quint — reach and elevated water for the tall, hard-to-hit fires.
Engines 601 & 602
Type 1 · 2006 & 2019 Pierce · 1,500 GPM · 1,000-gal · foam · thermal imagingLadder 611
1991 E-One · 75-foot aerial quint · reach for the tall, hard-to-hit firesTechnical Rescue 606
Dedicated swift water, ice, and rope rescue unitTender 652
2,750-gallon rural water tender · a rolling water supply far from any hydrantHeavy Rescue 659
Extrication and heavy rescue for the calls that take steel and muscleChief 607
2022 Dodge Durango · command on scene
We are always on stage, so make yourself and your actions deserving of applause.
The department credo
Prevention & Education
The best fire is the one that never starts.
Answering calls is the part people see. Preventing them is the part that saves the most lives — and most of it is free.
Any resident · No cost
Free Smoke & CO Detectors
A working smoke detector roughly halves your risk of dying in a home fire. We'll bring detectors to your home, install them, and test the ones you already have — at no cost anywhere in our service area.
School & Classroom Visits
We bring the engine, the gear, and the crew to Payette classrooms. Kids learn stop-drop-and-roll, how to crawl low under smoke, and how to dial 911 — and they get to see a firefighter in full SCBA so they're never frightened of one in a real fire.
Pre-K through 6th grade
Fire Prevention Week
Every October we go all-in: open house at the station, classroom visits across the district, and hands-on demos for families. It's the biggest prevention push we make all year.
All ages · Every October
Senior Battery Program
We replace smoke-detector batteries for seniors free of charge, so nobody is left pulling down a chirping alarm and never putting it back. Donate 9-volts at Dart's True Value, City Hall, or the station.
Seniors · No cost
Business & Commercial Inspections
Free courtesy inspections help new businesses open safely, and scheduled commercial inspections keep them that way. We would much rather help you pass than write you up.
Business owners · Free courtesy inspection
Extinguisher & Home Safety Training
Hands-on training for civic groups, churches, and workplaces: how to pick the right extinguisher, how to use it, and — just as important — when to skip it and get everybody out instead.
Groups · By request
Photo Gallery
The wall at the station.
A century and a third of Payette firefighters, photographed off the history wall at the station. Some of these crews are the grandfathers of the crew on shift tonight.
Home Fire Safety
Two minutes. That may be all you get.
In a home fire you can have as little as two minutes to get out. Fire moves faster than most people think. Know the enemy, and have a plan before you ever need one.
Fast
A small flame becomes an out-of-control fire in under 30 seconds. There's no time to gather things — only to leave.
Hot
Air at eye level can reach 600 degrees. Heat alone can kill you long before the flames do.
Dark
Thick black smoke blinds you fast. You may not find the front door in a house you know by heart.
Deadly
Smoke and toxic gas kill more people than flames. Most fire deaths come from breathing, not burning.
Make a home escape plan — and practice it
Find two ways out of every room. Pick a meeting place outside. Crawl low under smoke. Once you're out, stay out — and never go back inside for anything.
Birthdays
Happy birthday from the whole crew.
A little something we do for the people who answer the tones.
Draft · Sample data. Before this goes live the department needs an opt-in from each firefighter, a real roster with photos, and someone who owns keeping it current. See the implementation note in the README.
This month
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How this would work: the department keeps one roster, each firefighter opts in, and this section and the Facebook post both read from it. Nobody appears here who hasn’t said yes.
Latest from Payette Fire
See what we've been up to.
Calls, community events, road closures, and burn-ban notices go up on our Facebook page first. It's the fastest way to see what's happening right now.
See our latest postOpens our Facebook page — the newest post is at the top.
Volunteer
Your town needs firefighters.
We're accepting applications for volunteer firefighters right now.
This is real service, and it asks a lot. You'll train hard and answer calls at hours that aren't convenient. You don't need experience to start — you need to show up ready to work and to be trusted, and we'll teach you the rest. In return, you'll stand with a crew that shows up for its neighbors, and you'll know your town is safer because you did.
- 18 years or older
- Willing to train and respond across Payette and the rural Slope
- No experience required — we'll train you
Contact
How to reach us.
Stop by the station during business hours, or reach us any time by phone. The non-emergency line is for questions, permits, programs, and inspections.
- Non-emergency
- 208·642·6028
- Business hours
- Monday – Friday · 7:00 am – 7:00 pmSaturday – Sunday · 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Follow along
- facebook.com/Payette.Fire.Department
In an emergency, always call 911.
Send us a message.
Questions about permits, programs, inspections, or anything else. This is not for emergencies.