About Affiliate 3865
How It All Started And Why
July 20, 1998, the International Association of Firefighters and Paramedics (IAFF) chartered St. Johns County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics (Affiliate 3865), and the Florida Professional Firefighters followed suit later that same year.
This IAFF Affiliate of dedicated, trained, and proven firefighters and paramedics proudly safeguards the St. Johns County community, while ensuring fair salaries, benefits, and optimal working conditions for its members.
The Affiliate’s primary goals are to provide the citizens and visitors of St. Johns County with the highest quality public safety, emergency medicine, and property conservation services.
These objectives can be achieved only by attracting and retaining the highest quality members. To do this, the Affiliate ensures wages and benefits are competitive, and the established safety standards protect the public and the fire rescue workers. Because of this work, the Affiliate members genuinely represent the best of St. Johns County.
More than 330 full-time professional firefighters and paramedics are committed to their community and represented by the St. Johns County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, IAFF Affiliate 3865.
ABOUT SJCFR
St. Johns County Fire Rescue (SJCFR) began as a volunteer-only fire department in the 1960's. In the 1970s, paid Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were added, provided by Flagler Hospital.
St. Johns County has always been known for its progressive and aggressive style of EMS, boasting the first certified paramedic (Margo Stevens) registered in Florida. Soon after its inception, the county absorbed the EMS responsibilities.
However, fire suppression services remained solely volunteer-based until 1998, when the county absorbed these services. From that point forward, SJCFR has rapidly grown into the fully paid fire rescue department it is today.
SJCFR protects and provides fire protection and EMS to all people and properties within the 822 square miles of St. Johns County -- one of the fastest-growing counties in Florida. SJCFR protects more than 255,000 residents and six million visitors each year. Beyond EMS and firefighting, SJCFR provides additional services, including marine rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, special operations, and regional/federal response.