Fire Departments in Shelby County, Alabama — Contacts, Stations & Response Times

Shelby County, Alabama (pop. 223,024) is protected by a combination system: city departments in Pelham, Alabaster, Helena, Calera and Chelsea, two fire districts along the US 280 corridor (Cahaba Valley and North Shelby), municipal departments in Westover and Harpersville, and 15 volunteer departments, including Columbiana, Montevallo and Vincent, across 810 square miles. Shelby County 9-1-1 dispatches most of them.

Shelby County 9-1-1 (main line)

(205) 439-6911

Shelby County Emergency Management Agency: (205) 669-3999
Pelham Fire Department (non-emergency): (205) 620-6500
Alabaster Fire Department (non-emergency): (205) 621-8752
Shelby County 9-1-1, 19220 US Highway 280, Birmingham, AL 35242, USA
shelby911.org/agencies
EMA office (504 Hwy 70, Columbiana): Mon–Fri 8:00–16:30 (CT)

Call Directions

24Fire departments based in the county

42+Fire stations

231+Fire personnel (4 departments publish)

17+Apparatus (published)

810 sq miCounty area

223,024Population (2020)

Who Provides Fire Protection in Shelby County

Pelham Fire Department — career, 80 firefighter/EMTs at five stations, each with an ALS pumper; about 3,000 calls a year, ISO Class 2; water, trench and high-angle rescue, hazmat.
Alabaster Fire Department — career, 64 personnel at three stations, ALS and technical rescue; ISO Class 2.
Helena Fire Department — 34 full-time and 13 part-time members, three stations, about 2,400 incidents a year, two ALS transport units.
Chelsea Fire & Rescue (career) and Calera Fire & Rescue — three stations each.
Fire districts — Cahaba Valley Fire & EMR District (combination, four stations) and North Shelby Fire & EMS District (three stations) cover unincorporated north Shelby along US 280.
Montevallo Fire & Rescue — 40+ volunteers and officers, two stations, ALS, about 1,500 calls a year, ISO Class 2.
Westover and Harpersville — one station each.
14 more volunteer departments (below).

Shelby County 9-1-1 (since 1988) serves 28 fire/EMS agencies and dispatches most of them (not Pelham, Hoover, Birmingham or Leeds). Hoover, Birmingham, Leeds and Vestavia Hills cover their parts of the county, and South East Shelby Rescue provides EMS. 911 sends the right department based on your address.

Fire Departments in Shelby County

Departments, type and main station
Department	Type	Main station	Phone
Pelham FD	Career (5 st.)	3162 Pelham Pkwy, Pelham 35124	(205) 620-6500
Alabaster FD	Career (3 st.)	910 1st St S, Alabaster 35007	(205) 621-8752
Helena FD	Career + part-time (3 st.)	Not published	(205) 663-2161
Calera Fire & Rescue	Municipal (3 st.)	1310 17th Ave, Calera 35040 (admin)	(205) 668-3518
Chelsea Fire & Rescue	Career (3 st.)	106 Chesser Dr, Chelsea 35043	(205) 678-6060
Cahaba Valley Fire & EMR District	District, combination (4 st.)	145 Narrows Dr, Birmingham 35242 (office)	(205) 991-6664
North Shelby Fire & EMS District	District (3 st.)	4617 Valleydale Rd, Birmingham 35242	(205) 991-6439
Montevallo Fire & Rescue	Volunteer, ALS (2 st.)	1140 Ashville Rd, Montevallo 35115	(205) 665-9204
Westover FD	Municipal	3345 Westover Rd, Westover 35147	(205) 618-9830
Harpersville FD	Municipal	38891 Hwy 25, Harpersville 35078	(205) 672-7959

Volunteer Fire Departments

Columbiana VFD — 105 Hwy 47 S, Columbiana 35051 · (205) 669-5820
County 17 VFD — 73 Hwy 260, Maylene 35114 · (205) 229-0865
Dry Valley VFD — 46 Hwy 18, Montevallo 35115 · (205) 365-9680
Dunnavant VFD — 57095 Hwy 25, Leeds 35094 · (205) 669-3473
Four Mile VFD — 941 Hwy 55, Wilsonville 35186 · (205) 669-1729
Kingdom VFD — 3471 Hwy 28, Columbiana 35051 · (205) 669-0051
Pea Ridge VFD — 6185 Hwy 10, Montevallo 35115
Saginaw VFD — 526 Hwy 26 E, Alabaster 35007 · (205) 664-7711
Shelby VFD — 4895 Hwy 47, Shelby 35143 · (205) 669-0140
Summer Hill VFD — 17947 Hwy 25, Columbiana 35051 · (205) 669-6488
Vandiver VFD — 12177 Hwy 43, Vandiver 35176 · (205) 672-2366
Vincent VFD — 42030 Hwy 25, Vincent 35178 · (205) 672-8070
West Shelby VFD — 5347 Hwy 119, Montevallo 35115 · (205) 500-0852
Wilsonville VFD — 9905 N Main St, Wilsonville 35186 · (205) 669-6180

All addresses are in Alabama. Volunteer stations are not always staffed. For anything urgent, call 911 rather than a station number.

Other stations: Calera — 9648 Hwy 25, 360 George Roy Pkwy, 15843 Hwy 25. North Shelby — 4996 Caldwell Mill Ln, 6902 Lyndon Dr.

Estimated Response Time

Alabaster, Pelham, Helena, Calera and Chelsea have 17 stations on about 134 square miles of land, an average radius of roughly 1.6 miles. The rest of the county (about 650 square miles; 284 residents per square mile county-wide) has some 25 stations, roughly 2.9 miles each, closer in the US 280 districts. Harpersville's single station covers about 90 square miles (radius near 5.4 miles), and volunteers must first reach the station.

First-unit arrival by distance from the nearest station Estimate
Radius	City departments	US 280 districts (combination)	Rural county (volunteer)
≤ 1.5 mi	4–6 min	5–8 min	8–12 min
1.5–3 mi	6–8 min	7–10 min	10–14 min
3–6 mi	8–11 min	9–13 min	12–18 min
> 6 mi	11+ min	13+ min	18+ min

Typical expectation: about 4–8 minutes in the five cities, 7–10 minutes in the US 280 fire districts and 10–18 minutes for most rural addresses.

Estimated Fire Control Time

From arrival to "under control", by fire size Estimate
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 woodland fire	2–12+ hours

Rural roads often lack hydrants, so water comes by tanker; expect the upper end of each range there. Woodland fires are fought with the Alabama Forestry Commission. Lay Lake on the Coosa River lines the eastern side of the county.

Apparatus & Equipment

Pelham — ALS pumpers (one per station): 5
Alabaster — engine companies: 3
Alabaster — ladder: 1
Helena — ALS engines: 3
Helena — ALS transports: 2
Helena — aerial: 1
Helena — tanker: 1
Helena — shift commander vehicle: 1

Other fleets are not published.

Fire suppression
EMS (ALS)
Hazmat
Technical rescue
Water rescue
Wildland

Ratings & Accreditation

ISO PPC Class 2: Alabaster (since 2020), Pelham and Montevallo. Ratings for the other departments and districts are not published.

Outdoor burning: Shelby County is under an ADEM no-burn order every year from May 1 through October 31. Outside that season, burns larger than ¼ acre need an Alabama Forestry Commission permit, (800) 392-5679; Westover, Montevallo and the Cahaba Valley district also issue local permits.

Neighboring Counties

St. Clair County, AL (northeast)
Talladega County, AL (east)
Coosa County, AL (southeast)
Chilton County, AL (south)
Bibb County, AL (southwest)
Jefferson County, AL (northwest)

FAQ

What is the non-emergency number for fire in Shelby County?

Shelby County 9-1-1: (205) 439-6911. Shelby County EMA: (205) 669-3999. For any fire or medical emergency, always call 911.

Who fights fires in unincorporated Shelby County?

The Cahaba Valley and North Shelby fire districts cover the US 280 corridor, and volunteer departments cover the rest. 911 dispatches the right one based on your address.

What ISO ratings do Shelby County fire departments have?

Alabaster, Pelham and Montevallo hold ISO Public Protection Classification Class 2. Ratings for the other departments are not published.

How fast does the fire department respond in Shelby County?

About 4–8 minutes for the first unit in the five cities, 7–10 minutes in the US 280 fire districts and 10–18 minutes in rural areas.

Do I need a burn permit in Shelby County?

Shelby County has an ADEM no-burn order from May 1 through October 31. Outside that period, burns larger than ¼ acre need an Alabama Forestry Commission permit from (800) 392-5679.

This profile is provided for general reference and may contain estimates. It is not an emergency service and is not affiliated with the department. In an emergency, always call your local emergency number.