Des Moines Firefighters

Des Moines Firefighters This is the OFFICIAL page of the Local Four Des Moines Firefighters union. Protecting the streets of Des Moines 24/7/365!

Des Moines proudly received the designation as Local 4 on February 28,1918, the fourth recognized local to charter with the IAFF. From its inception, the goals of the Des Moines Association of Professional Firefighters has remained unchanged; a decent wage for a skilled, difficult and dangerous profession; protection for the firefighter's family; a pension tailored to limited working years on the

job with cost of living adjustments; modern protective clothing and equipment to make a very dangerous job, as safe as possible.

"OK kid, let me show you how you pound out this tenderloin properly!"Not sure if that was the actual conversation, but m...
05/21/2026

"OK kid, let me show you how you pound out this tenderloin properly!"

Not sure if that was the actual conversation, but meals in the firehouse are a big deal for those on shift. We pay for our own meals, and split the cost, eating a family style meal every night together as a crew. Specific nights are specific meals, and many traditions go back years before any of our current members even got on the job.

Tonight we are having tenderloins, and we hope to have them hot and fresh.
But... ya never know when that bell is gonna go off.😉

Wednesday was an incredible day, and we really don't have the words to describe it, but we'll try. Yesterday, 5 of our m...
05/21/2026

Wednesday was an incredible day, and we really don't have the words to describe it, but we'll try. Yesterday, 5 of our members ran 62 miles each!!! IN ONE DAY!!!

Many years ago, several of our DMFD Local 4 members, including Mike Broderick were running ultramarathons and had the idea to run an unofficial DMFD station to station ultramarathon. Starting at station 1, and moving in numerical order through all the stations, until completion. The idea never came to fruition at the time, and in the meantime we lost our brother Mike Broderick to cancer. It hit us hard, and some of our members that had been close with Mike, stepped back from running ultras.

Fast forward to several years later, and some of our newer members caught wind of the idea, and literally ran with it.

So yesterday, 5 members completed the first ever "Unofficial Station to Station Ultramarathon." 100 kilometers, or 62 miles of grueling city running and pounding the pavement, hitting each station IN. NUMERICAL. ORDER! Mike's wife Emily saw them off in the morning at 6am, and throughout the day, with the spirit of Mike, they all arrived at station 11 later that evening, all with smiles on their faces.

One of our biggest takeaways from yesterday is how truly supported everyone felt. From the crews at all the stations, to all the family members who were out there for such a long day, to the friends that came out to run or offer route support. It’s easy to get into the groove of work/home/repeat, but to wake up this morning and be able to feel the pain, and take a breath into our lungs realizing we are alive and able to honor our brother Mike, is such an honor and very humbling. It was the true meaning of brotherhood, and I think Mike understood that more than most.

It's emotional writing this and knowing that Mike should be here to participate and witness this, but also the pride we are feeling in our members and station crews is second to none. Beautiful work to all 5 that completed the run!!!

*We'll share some pics in the comments👇🏼
Ultra Running Family UltraRunning Magazine Ultra Running Andrew Glaze

It's EMS Week 2026! We appreciate all of our members that provide Emergency Medical Services to the residents and guests...
05/18/2026

It's EMS Week 2026! We appreciate all of our members that provide Emergency Medical Services to the residents and guests to our great city each and every single day!
Happy EMS Week 2026!

Throughout the year our DMFD Local 4 firefighters have some required drills and trainings that our department puts out f...
05/15/2026

Throughout the year our DMFD Local 4 firefighters have some required drills and trainings that our department puts out for us. This quarter we have multiple tasks, among them is chainsaw maintenance.

Stripping down our chainsaws and making sure we are familiar with every single aspect of them is important when making sure our people know how to do the job. When time matters, we want to make sure we know how to start, or troubleshoot all of our equipment.

Here we see the crew of Station 8 on the south-side putting some work in during the day around the kitchen table. We are grateful that station 8 still has a medic, an Engine AND a Truck, to provide all the necessary life safety operations on the south-side of town.
The kitchen table serves many functions; many great meals have been shared together with crews, lots of great trainings, and even conversations about city council and budget with the Chief.

Happy Friday friends! Have a safe and happy weekend!
Iowa Professional Fire Fighters International Association of Fire Fighters STIHL

Our DMFD Local 4 personnel enjoy supporting the community they serve in, but this is what it looks like when the members...
05/12/2026

Our DMFD Local 4 personnel enjoy supporting the community they serve in, but this is what it looks like when the members serve the community they grew up in.
This past Sunday, the crew on Truck 3 on the Eastside of Des Moines were all East High School graduates, and all assigned to the Eastside station #3 at the corner of Hubbell and Easton.

EHS class of '98, '99, and 2017 all represented, riding the truck in the community they grew up in and graduated high school in. A Captain, Engineer, and Firefighter; covering all the truck roles.

Know of a Des Moines Public Schools event or career fair happening? We'd love to be a part of it. Reach out today with a message and we'd love to see the next generation of DSM kids working with us in the future!
Des Moines EHS Alumni Association

This afternoon members from our department, with food provided by Local 4, grilled out for the Des Moines Police departm...
05/12/2026

This afternoon members from our department, with food provided by Local 4, grilled out for the Des Moines Police department members in recognition of police week 2026.
Several of our members spent the day making sure these officers had a warm meal in appreciation of what they do for us and our community throughout the year. We were grateful for the assistance by our own administration and greatly appreciate their support.

We didn’t snag too many pictures because we had quite a large crowd at multiple points throughout the day. Happy police week, thank you for your service DMPD.

And a huge thanks to Hy-Vee for donating all the meat we grilled!

Today we want to send the happiest of Mother's Day wishes to the mothers currently serving as members of DMFD Local 4. W...
05/10/2026

Today we want to send the happiest of Mother's Day wishes to the mothers currently serving as members of DMFD Local 4. We all know the sacrifice of a mother to begin with, add the pressure of a firefighting career on top of that, and these are some incredible women!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there today. Call your mom if you have a chance and thank her for her service. We sure are grateful for the service of these moms!
International Association of Fire Fighters Iowa Professional Fire Fighters

Recently a number of our members attended and participated in a rigorous swift water rescue class held here in the metro...
05/10/2026

Recently a number of our members attended and participated in a rigorous swift water rescue class held here in the metro.
Many attendees are currently members of the Water Emergency Team(WET), and others are taking the class that have interest in joining the team.

While they will never label themselves the green beret's of the department, they are one of the coolest specialty teams out there!

We are proud of all of our DMFD Local 4 members that pursue classes and trainings that take their skills to the next level.
Great work everyone!
International Association of Fire Fighters Iowa Professional Fire Fighters

After over 30 years as a member of Des Moines Fire Local 4, Engineer Dan Lamb is hanging it up.Throughout the years, Dan...
05/08/2026

After over 30 years as a member of Des Moines Fire Local 4, Engineer Dan Lamb is hanging it up.
Throughout the years, Dan has served in a variety of roles within Local 4 as a jack of all trades. Dan laid some of the groundwork for much of the merch we have today, passing the torch throughout the years.
Today Dan spends his last day at Station #3 on the Eastside of Des Moines - and we are very grateful for all the memories Dan has given us over the years.
Enjoy your retirement Engineer Lamb, don't be a stranger!
Iowa Professional Fire Fighters International Association of Fire Fighters

Today on International Firefighters Day, we received very generous donations from our friends at the Des Moines Police d...
05/05/2026

Today on International Firefighters Day, we received very generous donations from our friends at the Des Moines Police dept, the Veterans of Foreign Wars VFW, and Doll Distributing - Des Moines.
We received Casey's pizza from the VFW, B&B Grocery, Meat & Deli sandwiches from the Police, and Phorm energy drinks from Doll Distributing.
Thanks to all that fed us well today, we were very hungry after that big second alarm fire tonight, and it really hit the spot!!

Looking back at our memories the last few years, it’s fun to see what we’ve posted on this day the last few years.All of...
05/04/2026

Looking back at our memories the last few years, it’s fun to see what we’ve posted on this day the last few years.

All of these pictures are from years past, but fun throwbacks nonetheless.

Happy International Firefighters Day, and Star Wars Day! 

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901 Cherry Street
Des Moines, IA
50309

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