Home → City Departments → Fire Department
Fire Chief David Webster has been a member of the Hattiesburg Fire Department since 1986, and is currently dirfector of the department. He is a 1981 graduate of William Carey College (now William Carey University). During his years of service he has received various training certifications from the Mississippi State Fire Academy and the National Fire Academy, a division of the National Fire Administration. Chief Webster is also a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician and a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the Mississippi Fire Chiefs Association. He currently sits on the board of the Forrest County Emergency Management District.
Chief Webster and his wife, Kandi, have four children and three grandchildren. His main goal as chief is to guide the department toward greater response capability for the citizens of Hattiesburg through increased firefighter training and resources availability
The mission of the Hattiesburg Fire Department is to provide fire suppression, rescue, first responder emergency medical response, hazardous materials response, and fire prevention and education services to the citizens of Hattiesburg. The department operates four divisions with over 120 personnel, with ten engine and ladder companies operating from eight stations within the city. The current public fire protection rating for Hattiesburg is Class
The Hattiesburg Fire Department officially became a paid department on April 15, 1904. Led by A.F. Potter, nine men served the City twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with little time off. That same day they also put into service a horse-drawn engine with two used horses named Duke and Dexter, purchased from local stock.
From the first station located at City Hall with the engine, a combination hose and ladder wagon and a chief’s buggy, the department expanded with two more stations in 1908 at Arledge Street and W. 5th Street. Hattiesburg purchased its first motorized engine in 1915 (followed by two more in 1917 and 1921, respectively) and became the first department in the state to purchase a motorized ladder truck in 1939. At that time the department had grown by another station on Hardy and Dixie Avenue with twenty-five firemen now serving at four stations on two twenty-four hour shifts.
Today, a little more than a century since its inception, the Hattiesburg Fire Department has grown to eight stations, 118 firefighters, six engines, two aerials and two rescue pumpers. Besides fire suppression, the department also serves the greater Pine Belt region and the state with experienced hazardous materials, rescue and all-hazards teams. But while much has changed sine the department’s “horse and buggy” days, one thing hasn’t – the same spirit of service and courage that inspired those first firefighters in 1904 continues on today with “Hattiesburg’s Bravest.”
