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Rochester Public Safety

Public safety comes first in Rochester and the city is blessed with individuals dedicated to ensuring the safety of its citizens.

Rochester Fire Department
The Rochester Fire Department serves the Lilac City with pride and has a very dedicated staff of firefighters. The firefighters are well-trained on state-of-the-art equipment and apparatus. The department consists of 37 full-time firefighters and officers, with 40 on-call members and one full-time administrative assistant. Firefighters respond to countless types of emergencies throughout Rochester from two stations, making responses throughout the city quick and efficient.

The City of Rochester recently opened a beautiful 7,000 square foot fire station in April 2000 in the western corridor from which two pieces of apparatus respond. Our well-trained force of professional fire fighters can respond to emergencies with as many as five pumpers, one tanker, one 110’ aerial ladder, one heavy-duty rescue unit, and one forestry unit.

A new technical rescue response trailer and new crew cab pickup truck tow vehicle has also just been added to our fleet. This trailer is equipped with a full set of paratech rescue struts, rescue ropes and assorted tools required to perform trench rescues, below grade rescues, high angle rescues and confined space rescues.

Other vehicles include two command vehicles and one fire prevention/investigation unit to ensure that every possible emergency can be managed with care.

The Fire Department is very proactive and visible in the community with various events and fire prevention exercises. These include fire safety classes for children, the annual Christmas and Fire Prevention Open House. Other activities include the annual Rochester Fair, Lilac Family Fun Festival, Downtown Summer Festival and various other activities upon request.

The primary mission of the Rochester Fire Department is to pro-vide a range of programs designed to protect and maintain the quality of life within the City of Rochester through Fire Prevention, Fire Suppression and Rescue activities.

The Rochester Fire Department has a website that can be visited at www.rochfd.org.

Rochester Police Department
The prime mission of the Rochester Police Department is the protection of life and property. This is accomplished through fair and equal enforcement, always keeping in mind the rights and dignity of the public. The basis of all police action is the law and the credibility of the agency. The measure of our service will be judged by the public in the way we deliver our service. We will hold all personnel to a high level of ethical practices. This mission can be achieved through crime prevention, public relations and community policing.

The City of Rochester is growing, residentially and commercially, faster than it has in more than ten years, and thus is reported to be one of the fastest growing communities in the seacoast. The Police Department has a state-of-the-art communications center, staffed 24-hours per day by specially trained personnel dispatching police and fire calls for service. The digital radio upgrade coordinated in conjunction with the State of New Hampshire is complete. This will be beneficial in the months to come with our ability to “talk” to other law enforcement agencies, and also as we address Homeland Security issues.

The Rochester Police Department has a staff of sworn and civilian members supporting the city. Officers and other department personnel receive state-of-the-art training in problem solving and ethics to assist them in performing the complex role of law enforcement in the 21st century. The members of the Rochester Police Department are dedicated to the community policing philosophy, working in partnership with our citizens and visitors to the city in order to provide the best possible service. We have neighborhood coalitions and neighborhood watch programs throughout the City of Rochester.

In 2004, the City Council approved and built a state-of-the-art police facility. The new facility will serve the citizens and visitors to the City of Rochester for many years to come. It allows us to perform our functions with the efficiency the public has come to demand in the new century. It gives us options in exploring areas of growth that we could not do before. This is really an exciting time in law enforcement in the City of Rochester.

Mobile, foot and bike patrols are conducted throughout the city on a 24-hour basis. We offer a two-unit motorcycle program that patrols the city. These units have been very successful and can perform the same work as a full size patrol car, except to transport, at a significantly reduced cost. A partnership with our Housing Authority made an officer available to those families. This program has branched out to include a Youth Safe Haven. We introduced a K-9 program two years ago, that has, to date, phenomenally succeeded.

“Team Fina” is certified in drug detection and tracking. They are also working toward certification in article location. The department has specialized teams such as traffic accident reconstruction (TAR) and safely affected felony entry (SAFE) that are fully functional. We are fortunate to have the support of the school board and school department to offer School Resource Officers in both the middle school and high school. The department supervises a Police Explorer Post which is chartered through the Boy Scouts of America, consisting of young men and women ages 14-20 who are interested in law enforcement and community service.

The Police Department utilizes advanced technology to perform it’s mission – from mobile data terminals and networked computers, to the finest in police weaponry, including less lethal capability. This year in technology we will introduce Reverse 911, a program capable of calling persons in any selected jurisdiction to report or seek information, such as a lost child, a hazard spill, a dam break with downstream flooding, etc. We will also add Vehicle Locator technology to our vehicles which is a global positioning satellite feature capable of interfacing with our computer aided dispatch, records management and mapping system.

Over the past year, the department has begun to use the comp stat method of addressing crime and quality of life issues in the city. Our progress thus far with the program is outstanding. This allows the resources of the department to go further, and gives us the ability to be more effective and efficient by studying trends and patterns and directing activity to where it’s needed, without adding personnel.

It is the vision of the Rochester Police Department to continue to be a cornerstone of program and a model police department in service to our citizens, constantly improving the quality of services rendered. Find out more about us by visiting our website at www.rochesterpd.org.