Prairieville Fire Department - Department Information

Originally organized in 1970 the Prairieville Fire Protection District is located along the I-10/US 61 corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We are situated in the northwestern portion of Ascension Parish approximately 15 miles south of Baton Rouge. Our department is primarily volunteer with a roster of approximately 40 personnel. Prairieville Fire Department has hired six full time firefighters, along with a paid full time Fire Chief, and Deputy Chief. The full time firefighters are supplemnted by the use of three contract fire fighters daily. PFD has a roster of about 20 contract firefighters from various FD agencies. The full time firefighters and contract personnel support our volunteer staff by maintaining apparatus, hydrants and performing inspections/pre-fire plans. On average we respond to 135 calls per month the majority of which is EMS related. Our area is mostly residential with approximately 15 percent commercial/light industrial. Our department is funded through four sources (1) Parish wide 1/6th cent sales tax for fire protection and EMS services (2) Private donations directly to PVFD from citizens in our area (3)10mil property tax (4)Parcel Fees of $32 for residences and $100 for commercial structures. Our paid part-time personnel are funded through a contract between Ascension Parish Fire District # 3 and the Prairieville Volunteer Fire Dept. in which funds from the sales tax are used to pay for salaries and related expenses. Ascension Parish is split by the Mississippi River. On December 25, 2003 the Prairieville Fire Department service area was formed into a new fire protection area formally named Ascension Parish Fire District # 3. The formation of a new fire district was motivated by population and busineses growth that have more than doubled in the past 10 years. We currently have an ISO rating of 5 and are due to be rerated in 2007. Our dispatching is done through the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office Central Dispatch Center which does the dispatching for all agencies in Ascension Parish.