The Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska (pop. 291,247) is protected by a combination system: the career Anchorage Fire Department, rated ISO Class 1, staffs 13 stations across a 166-square-mile fire service area from the Anchorage Bowl to Eagle River. Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue covers the north from five stations, and the nonprofit Girdwood Fire Department, under contract with the Municipality, covers Girdwood and the Turnagain Arm corridor of the Seward Highway.
Anchorage Fire Department (main line)
(907) 267-4900- Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue (administration): (907) 694-2010
- Girdwood Fire Department: (907) 783-2511
- Anchorage Fire Department, 100 East 4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA
- muni.org/Departments/Fire
- Office hours: Not published. Emergencies: call 911.
Who Provides Fire Protection in the Municipality of Anchorage
- Anchorage Fire Department (AFD) — career, founded 1915, ISO Class 1. It staffs 13 stations in a 166-square-mile fire service area (the Anchorage Bowl out to Eagle River), runs its own Communications Center, and provides EMS across the whole 1,961-square-mile Municipality.
- Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company (CVFRD) — volunteer, over 100 members in four crews, five stations, about 47 square miles and about 11,000 residents from the North Eagle River overpass to the Knik River bridge. Over 1,000 calls a year, nearly 70% medical.
- Girdwood Fire Department (Girdwood Fire and Rescue, Inc.) — a nonprofit contracted by the Municipality for fire, rescue and EMS in the Girdwood Valley Service Area: one station, a 172-square-mile coverage area and about 2,800 residents.
AFD has mutual aid agreements with the Ted Stevens International Airport Police and Fire Department, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Girdwood and Chugiak; the airport and JBER fire services are not counted above. Call 911 anywhere in the Municipality.
Fire Departments in the Municipality of Anchorage
| Department | Type | Main station | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Fire Department | Career (13 stations) | 100 E 4th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501 (HQ) | (907) 267-4900 |
| Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue | Volunteer (5 stations) | Station 35, North Eagle River (administration) | (907) 694-2010 |
| Girdwood Fire Department | Volunteer (1 station) | 186 Egloff Dr, Girdwood, AK 99587 | (907) 783-2511 |
Volunteer stations are not always staffed. For anything urgent, call 911 rather than a station number.
Fire Stations
| Station | Location |
|---|---|
| AFD 1 (Downtown) | 122 E 4th Ave, 99501 |
| AFD 3 (Mountain View) | 430 Bragaw St, 99508 |
| AFD 4 (Tudor) | 4350 MacInnes St, 99508 |
| AFD 5 (Spenard) | 2207 McRae Rd, 99517 |
| AFD 6 (Muldoon) | 1301 Patterson St, 99504 |
| AFD 7 (Jewel Lake) | 8735 Jewel Lake Rd, 99502 |
| AFD 8 (O'Malley) | 6151 O'Malley Rd, 99516 |
| AFD 9 (Dearmoun) | 13915 Lake Otis Pkwy, 99516 |
| AFD 10 (Rabbit Creek) | 14861 Mountain Air Dr, 99516 |
| AFD 11 (Eagle River) | 16630 Eagle River Rd, Eagle River, 99577 |
| AFD 12 (Dimond) | 7920 Homer Dr, 99518 |
| AFD 14 (Tudor/Baxter) | 4501 Campbell Airstrip Rd, 99507 |
| AFD 15 (Southport) | 11301 Southport Dr, 99515 |
| CVFRD 31 (Latimer) | Chugiak |
| CVFRD 32 (Gilmore) | Birchwood |
| CVFRD 33 (Hill) | Peters Creek |
| CVFRD 34 (Wallace) | Birchwood Airport |
| CVFRD 35 (Lowe) | North Eagle River |
| Girdwood 41 | 186 Egloff Dr, Girdwood, 99587 |
AFD addresses are in Anchorage unless noted. CVFRD street addresses are not published.
Estimated Response Time
We divide each department's own service area, not the whole Municipality, by its station count (r ≈ √(area ÷ (stations × π))). AFD's 13 staffed stations share 166 square miles, an average radius of roughly 2.0 miles. Chugiak's five stations share about 47 square miles, roughly 1.7 miles each, and volunteers must first reach the station. Girdwood's single station covers 172 square miles, roughly 7.4 miles, including the Seward Highway from Indian to about Mile 65 (Kenai Peninsula Borough). Addresses outside these areas have no assigned fire station.
| Radius | AFD (career) | Chugiak & Girdwood (volunteer) |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 1.5 mi | 4–6 min | 8–12 min |
| 1.5–3 mi | 6–8 min | 10–14 min |
| 3–6 mi | 8–11 min | 12–18 min |
| > 6 mi | 11+ min | 18+ min |
Typical expectation: about 6–8 minutes in AFD's area, 10–14 minutes in Chugiak, and 18+ minutes on the Turnagain Arm corridor. Published data: AFD's target is a 4-minute travel time on 90% of structure-fire calls; it met it on 51% in 2025 and 54% in Q2 2026 (travel time only, excluding dispatch and turnout).
Estimated Fire Control Time
| Fire size | Example | Indicative time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Grass patch, dumpster, small vehicle | 5–20 min |
| Medium | Room-and-contents, car fully involved | 15–45 min |
| Large | Whole house, commercial unit | 45–120 min |
| Major | Multi-alarm, industrial, large wildland fire | 2–12+ hours |
AFD keeps water tenders at Stations 8, 9, 10, 11 and 14, and Chugiak and Girdwood also run tenders, so expect the upper end of each range where water comes by truck. Girdwood is 45–60 miles from the nearest hospital, and its crews also handle crashes on the Seward Highway.
Apparatus & Equipment
Anchorage Fire Department fleet (published list):
- Engines
- 14
- Trucks / tiller / platforms
- 2 / 1 / 2
- Ambulances
- 13
- Rescues
- 3
- Tenders
- 5
- Hazmat / USAR / wildland
- 1 / 1 / 1
- Rescue boats
- 2
Chugiak runs engines, medic units, tenders and brush units from Stations 31, 33 and 35; Girdwood Station 41 houses an engine, two medic units, two rescues, three tenders and a boat. Both provide 24/7 advanced life support.
- Fire suppression
- EMS
- Hazmat
- Water rescue
- Technical rescue
- Wildland
Ratings & Accreditation
Anchorage Fire Department: ISO PPC Class 1. Ratings for the Chugiak and Girdwood service areas are not published.
Outdoor burning: The Municipality sets its own rules. Recreational fires are allowed only when the Municipality's "Is Today a Burn Day?" notice permits them. Burn barrels, burning trash, construction materials or debris, and fireworks are prohibited throughout the Municipality, and burn bans are declared during high fire danger.
Neighboring Boroughs and Census Areas
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK (north)
- Chugach Census Area, AK (east)
- Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK (south)
FAQ
What is the non-emergency number for fire in the Municipality of Anchorage?
Anchorage Fire Department main line: (907) 267-4900. Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue: (907) 694-2010. Girdwood Fire Department: (907) 783-2511. For any fire or medical emergency, always call 911.
Who fights fires in Chugiak, Eagle River and Girdwood?
AFD Station 11 covers Eagle River. Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue covers the area from the North Eagle River overpass to the Knik River bridge, and the Girdwood Fire Department covers Girdwood and the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm.
What ISO rating does Anchorage have?
The Anchorage Fire Department is an ISO Public Protection Classification Class 1 department.
How fast does the fire department respond in the Municipality of Anchorage?
About 6–8 minutes for the first unit in AFD's area, 10–14 minutes in Chugiak and 18+ minutes along the Turnagain Arm corridor (estimates). AFD reached 51% of structure fires within its 4-minute travel-time target in 2025.
Can I have a fire or burn yard debris in the Municipality of Anchorage?
Recreational fires are allowed only when the Municipality's "Is Today a Burn Day?" notice permits them. Burn barrels and burning trash, construction materials or debris are prohibited.
Last verified:
- Municipality of Anchorage — About AFD (ISO, service area, stations, mutual aid)
- Municipality of Anchorage — Fire Department (main line, address)
- Municipality of Anchorage — AFD Station Addresses
- Municipality of Anchorage — AFD Performance. Value. Results, Q2 2026 (response times)
- Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue — About Us (area, members, stations, calls)
- Chugiak Volunteer Fire & Rescue — Contact (phones)
- Girdwood Fire Department — Who We Are (contract, area, population, address)
- Girdwood Fire Department — Recreational Burning Regulations
- Alaska Division of Fire and Life Safety — Fire Department Directory 2026 (Girdwood phone)
- Wikipedia — Anchorage Fire Department (personnel, apparatus, CVFRD/Girdwood stations)
- Wikipedia — Anchorage, Alaska (population, area, neighbors)
- Alaska's News Source — Girdwood Fire Department looking for more local hires (2022) (Seward Highway coverage)
- Anchorage Daily News — burn permits suspended (2020) (burn days)