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Synonyms

fire department

American  

noun

  1. the department of a municipal government charged with the prevention and extinguishing of fire.

  2. the personnel in such a department.


fire department British  

noun

  1. the department of a local authority responsible for the prevention and extinguishing of fires

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fire department

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Ice brought the lines too close to the trees. We’re keeping an eye on it, since the fire department is too busy to answer the phone.”

From Literature

Below me, the fire department stood staring in horror at their dry-rotted nets that had been torn to shreds.

From Literature

Palisades resident and architect Ardie Tavangarian is so confident in his design that he even asked the fire department if they could start a controlled fire on the property to test it all out.

From Los Angeles Times

One early party he planned—a Halloween rave at a defunct plastics plant that was a registered toxic-waste site—was shut down by the fire department after it deemed the place unsafe.

From The Wall Street Journal

Safety controls, validated by the fire department, must be implemented for the storage of this fuel, the businessman told AFP, but "the institutions themselves are not able to clearly outline all the steps."

From Barron's