The Ouachita Parish Police Jury enacted an ordinance in 1965 creating the Ouachita Parish Fire Protection District #1. The following year a tax was passed by the voters in Ouachita Parish to fund firefighting operations and the construction of four fire stations known today as Finks Hideaway, Wallace, Ticheli, and King. The department expanded further in 1986 to add seven new fire stations known as Swartz, Cheniere-Drew, Kincaid, Calhoun, Fairbanks, Luna, and Cadeville. The Bosco, Cypress, and Carlton stations were added in 1993. The D’Arbonne station is our most recent addition, and it was open in 2021.

The jurisdiction is the entire Parish of Ouachita with the exception of the municipalities of Monroe and West Monroe. It covers approximately 600 square miles with a current population of 100,000.

The Ouachita Parish Fire Department has grown from only responding to fire calls in the early days to a sophisticated highly trained multi-jurisdictional response agency. Operations now include responses to all hazard incidents including, but not limited to, fire calls, emergency medical calls, hazardous material incidents, public service incidents, disaster support missions, urban search and rescue missions, swift water rescues, confined space rescues, high angle rescues, critical incident stress management, as well as unmanned aerial operation missions. The department also lends support to other agencies when called upon.

The annual call volume has increased every year further solidifying the strong presence in the community. We responded to more than 10,000 emergencies in 2020 and are on track for another increase in 2021.

Our Headquarters is also home to the Ouachita Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Region 8 Director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

“To protect and serve the citizens of Ouachita Parish with honor and sacrifice”