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A Message From Chief Hugo R. Esparza   Welcome to the Plano Fire Department’s Web site! It is my pleasure to represent all of the outstanding men and women who proudly serve the City of Plano in the Plano Fire Department. I invite you to also visit the City of Plano Web site to find out more about what makes this a vibrant, progressive and safe community to the 252,000 people who call Plano their home. We constantly strive to maintain our city services to ensure a high quality of life by providing good schools, good jobs, and a safe community for all of our citizens. Plano has garnered several national awards for its progressive and competent municipal government in many areas culminating in achieving All America City status. Within this outstanding City Team, the fire department is a key member in providing community safety. We accept and embrace this challenge with vigor and commitment. As the world evolves and our City grows and matures, our mission has also evolved to one that is not simply confined to “traditional” fire services. Terrorism and the effects of a disaster in another city or location in the United States remote from the north central Texas area can still have significant impacts on Plano. Therefore, our mission statement reflects a commensurate need for our fire department to think and operate in a more encompassing manner: “To protect and enhance the quality of life in Plano through a comprehensive program of services directed toward public education, prevention, and control in the areas of fire, rescue, medical emergencies, hazardous materials incidents, and disasters.” It is privilege to lead a progressive, customer-driven fire department that constantly works hard to meet the fire and rescue needs of its community. We do this through the dedicated efforts of 322 uniformed and 12 non-uniformed personnel assigned to one of five major divisions; Administration, Personnel Services, Support Services, Fire Prevention, and Operations. Operationally, the Plano Fire Department responds to emergencies from 11 fire stations that are strategically located within the 72.5 square miles that comprise the incorporated boundaries of the City. In 2005, the fire department responded to 566 fire calls and 10,377 EMS calls. Another vital activity within our mission is to prevent fires and accidents from occurring. This is accomplished through strong, proactive fire prevention efforts and public education programs. In FY 2005-2006 the PFD conducted 528 fire and life safety education programs to a total audience of 48,765. These programs included Risk Watch injury prevention classroom visits to school students, health and safety fairs, block parties, CPR classes, Scouting presentations, fire station tours, senior citizen group presentations, our fire department’s LAFS (Life and Fire Safety) Clowns, and our Citizens Fire Academy classes. Once again, welcome to our Web site, enjoy, and please contact us if you have any additional questions or have suggestions to improve our services to you.