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Tokyo Fire Department
The Tokyo Fire Department (Japanese: 東京消防庁, Hepburn: Tōkyō Shōbōchō) is the fire department of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Formed in 1948 during the post-war reorganisation of Japan's government, the TFD is today the largest fire department in Japan by number of firefighters, operating out of their headquarters in the Ōtemachi District of Chiyoda Ward and their 292 fire stations, sub-stations, and branch stations spread across the prefecture. The TFD is often cited as the largest fire department in the world by number of staff, outnumbering comparable departments such as the New York City Fire Department or the Paris Fire Brigade.
In the 2024 financial year, the TFD received 1,095,531 emergency 119 calls, and responded to 4,330 fires (a 9.5% increase on the previous year; 70% of these were building fires), 918,311 calls for emergency medical services, 28,155 technical rescue operations, and 6,418 other calls for assistance, including 2,162 hazardous materials incidents, 1,163 calls to assist police, and 584 animal rescue callouts. The year also saw the TFD process 43,033 building fire safety plan applications and 3,842 submissions related to hazardous materials licensing, as well as delivering 36,360 fire safety inspections and hosting 10,397 fire safety events with over 1 million participants.
Firefighting in Tokyo presents several unique challenges; demand for emergency medical services has been rising rapidly across the metropolis as a result of Japan's aging population, necessitating an increased focus on ambulance provision and the introduction of diversion services, such as consultation hotlines, to ease pressures on emergency medical systems. Climate change has also increased the work of the TFD, as hotter summers have led to an increase in medical emergencies, and more frequent severe weather events increase the demand for rescue work, both within Tokyo and across Japan (where the TFD is often dispatched to support smaller municipal fire departments due to its increased size and capabilities). Finally, the expected threat of a Nankai megathrust earthquake in the near-future necessitates intensive disaster preparedness work and the maintenance of surplus resources and staff to meet the anticipated damage of such an event.
The first fire brigades in Edo (the previous name for Tokyo) were known as hikeshi (火消); initially, the first hikeshi were made up of samurai loyal to feudal lords or daimyō, who were required to keep a residence in Edo, but in 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki ripped through Edo destroying 60-70% of the city and killing over 100,000 people, with the local daimyō bikeshi brigades too undermanned, underequipped, and inexperienced to deal with such a large fire. This failure of fire control represented a severe threat to the authority of the ruling military shogunate, and so one year later the jō bikeshi (定火消) was established as a full-time brigade made up of hatamoto samurai directly under the command of the shogun. This brigade was mainly concerned with the protection of the shogun's properties, such as Edo Castle, however did cooperate with the daimyō bikeshi to deal with fires in common areas, so as to not let them spread.
By the time the Meiji era emerged, most firefighting across Tokyo was undertaken by local volunteers in brigades called machi bikeshi, and the number of samurai firefighters had dropped significantly. As a result of reforms in the 1880s following the Meiji restoration, the career fire brigades were absorbed into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, whereas the volunteer firefighters were reorganised into groups known as shōbō gumi (消防組) under the control of the governor of the new Tokyo Prefecture.
In 1945, towards the end of the Pacific War, Tokyo was firebombed heavily due to its role as the capital of Japan; the number of casualties from the series of napalm bombing raids is disputed, but most estimates place it around 100,000 deaths.
Following the end of the war, firefighting in Japan was reorganised, creating the modern municipal fire department system; as a result, the Tokyo Fire Department was created in 1948.
In 2019, during the response to Typhoon Hagibis, an elderly woman being rescued died when she fell from a rescue hoist of a TFD helicopter because the rescuers had failed to properly secure her. The two air rescue personnel involved in the incident were officially reprimanded, but were not fired and did not face criminal or civil penalties.
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Tokyo Fire Department
The Tokyo Fire Department (Japanese: 東京消防庁, Hepburn: Tōkyō Shōbōchō) is the fire department of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Formed in 1948 during the post-war reorganisation of Japan's government, the TFD is today the largest fire department in Japan by number of firefighters, operating out of their headquarters in the Ōtemachi District of Chiyoda Ward and their 292 fire stations, sub-stations, and branch stations spread across the prefecture. The TFD is often cited as the largest fire department in the world by number of staff, outnumbering comparable departments such as the New York City Fire Department or the Paris Fire Brigade.
In the 2024 financial year, the TFD received 1,095,531 emergency 119 calls, and responded to 4,330 fires (a 9.5% increase on the previous year; 70% of these were building fires), 918,311 calls for emergency medical services, 28,155 technical rescue operations, and 6,418 other calls for assistance, including 2,162 hazardous materials incidents, 1,163 calls to assist police, and 584 animal rescue callouts. The year also saw the TFD process 43,033 building fire safety plan applications and 3,842 submissions related to hazardous materials licensing, as well as delivering 36,360 fire safety inspections and hosting 10,397 fire safety events with over 1 million participants.
Firefighting in Tokyo presents several unique challenges; demand for emergency medical services has been rising rapidly across the metropolis as a result of Japan's aging population, necessitating an increased focus on ambulance provision and the introduction of diversion services, such as consultation hotlines, to ease pressures on emergency medical systems. Climate change has also increased the work of the TFD, as hotter summers have led to an increase in medical emergencies, and more frequent severe weather events increase the demand for rescue work, both within Tokyo and across Japan (where the TFD is often dispatched to support smaller municipal fire departments due to its increased size and capabilities). Finally, the expected threat of a Nankai megathrust earthquake in the near-future necessitates intensive disaster preparedness work and the maintenance of surplus resources and staff to meet the anticipated damage of such an event.
The first fire brigades in Edo (the previous name for Tokyo) were known as hikeshi (火消); initially, the first hikeshi were made up of samurai loyal to feudal lords or daimyō, who were required to keep a residence in Edo, but in 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki ripped through Edo destroying 60-70% of the city and killing over 100,000 people, with the local daimyō bikeshi brigades too undermanned, underequipped, and inexperienced to deal with such a large fire. This failure of fire control represented a severe threat to the authority of the ruling military shogunate, and so one year later the jō bikeshi (定火消) was established as a full-time brigade made up of hatamoto samurai directly under the command of the shogun. This brigade was mainly concerned with the protection of the shogun's properties, such as Edo Castle, however did cooperate with the daimyō bikeshi to deal with fires in common areas, so as to not let them spread.
By the time the Meiji era emerged, most firefighting across Tokyo was undertaken by local volunteers in brigades called machi bikeshi, and the number of samurai firefighters had dropped significantly. As a result of reforms in the 1880s following the Meiji restoration, the career fire brigades were absorbed into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, whereas the volunteer firefighters were reorganised into groups known as shōbō gumi (消防組) under the control of the governor of the new Tokyo Prefecture.
In 1945, towards the end of the Pacific War, Tokyo was firebombed heavily due to its role as the capital of Japan; the number of casualties from the series of napalm bombing raids is disputed, but most estimates place it around 100,000 deaths.
Following the end of the war, firefighting in Japan was reorganised, creating the modern municipal fire department system; as a result, the Tokyo Fire Department was created in 1948.
In 2019, during the response to Typhoon Hagibis, an elderly woman being rescued died when she fell from a rescue hoist of a TFD helicopter because the rescuers had failed to properly secure her. The two air rescue personnel involved in the incident were officially reprimanded, but were not fired and did not face criminal or civil penalties.