Alexandria Fire Department | ALXnow

City Council backs union agreements with police, fire and administrative employees

Published January 15, 2026 at 10:45AM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

City Council has committed funding for three collective bargaining agreements with unions representing the Alexandria Police and Fire Departments and the city’s administrative and technical employees.

Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the three-year agreements on wages, benefits and work hours, which are now set to go into effect on July 1. The agreements include a reduction from 49 to 46 weekly work hours for AFD personnel, “significant” pay increases for police officers, and structured raises and merit increases for administrative and technical employees.

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Alexandria Fire Chief applauds proposed shift to 46-hour department workweek

By James Cullum

Published January 13, 2026 at 3:45PM

Alexandria Fire Chief Felipe Hernandez, Jr. speaks at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Alexandria's Market Square, Sept. 11, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Fire Department Chief Felipe Hernandez Jr. has expressed approval for an agreement between the city and the department’s union to reduce AFD’s workweek from 49 to 46 hours.

Hernandez says he’s on a mission to eventually reduce the workweek for his first responders to a 42-hour industry standard. Already this year, AFD has shifted from a 56-hour workweek to 49 hours, a move that was lauded by the International Association of Firefighters Local 2141, the union representing the Fire Department.

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Condemned townhouse returned to homeowner after Monday basement fire in West End

By James Cullum

Published January 6, 2026 at 11:00AM

Residential fire on Morgan Court, Jan. 5, 2026 (via IAFF Local 2141/Facebook)

No injuries were reported after the Alexandria Fire Department extinguished a townhouse basement fire in the West End yesterday (Monday).

Fire crews arrived at the 6000 block of Morgan Court at around 8:30 a.m. to find a smoke-filled basement and a flaming electrical panel, according to a Facebook post from the International Association of Firefighters Local 2141.

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AFD battalion chiefs not entitled to overtime pay, appeals court rules

By James Cullum

Published January 2, 2026 at 11:45AM

The Alexandria Fire Department responds to a blaze in the 100 block of E. Del Ray Avenue on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Battalion chiefs at the Alexandria Fire Department do not qualify for overtime wages, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on Wednesday, siding with the city and affirming a lower district court’s 2023 judgment.

The plaintiffs, 10 current and former AFD battalion chiefs, had sued the department for unpaid overtime wages. Chief Judge Albert Diaz issued the deciding opinion in the case, stating that the chiefs were exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act due to being “highly compensated employees,” a distinction that separates them from rank-and-file first responders under the city’s collective bargaining agreement.

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Firefighters make rescue from flipped vehicle in North Ridge

By James Cullum

Published December 26, 2025 at 2:15PM

Overturned vehicle on W. Braddock Road on Dec. 25, 2025 (via Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141/Facebook)

The Alexandria Fire Department rescued two people stuck inside a flipped vehicle in North Ridge on Wednesday.

The vehicle flipped near the intersection of W. Braddock Road and Davis Avenue at around 1:30 p.m. after the driver crashed into a tree. Firefighters rescued the two occupants within 15 minutes, according to AFD dispatches. Both were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Alexandria Fire Department extinguishes residential fire in North Ridge

By James Cullum

Published December 12, 2025 at 9:45AM

The Alexandria Fire Department extinguished a fire on Wellington Road in the city's North Ridge neighborhood (via Alexandria Firefighters Inc. Local 2141/Facebook

The Alexandria Fire Department extinguished a residential building fire in North Ridge last night (Thursday).

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which occurred at around 6:30 p.m. at the 3200 block of Wellington Road, near the intersection with Gunston Road. The fire started in a three-level, multi-unit home, in a bedroom on the second floor.

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Police investigate after vehicle strikes pedestrian in Rosemont

By James Cullum

Published December 9, 2025 at 6:00PM

Alexandria Fire Department ambulance. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria police are investigating after a vehicle struck a man at the intersection of Russell Road and W. Glendale Avenue in Rosemont this afternoon (Tuesday).

The victim sustained a non-life threatening head injury, according to dispatch reports. The incident briefly shut down southbound Russell Road at W. Glendale Avenue, and police and the Alexandria Fire Department responded to the scene.

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UPDATED: Firefighters recover contractor stuck in sewer near AlexRenew wastewater plant

By Katie Taranto

Published December 4, 2025 at 7:00PM | Updated December 5, 2025 at 9:51AM

Near the AlexRenew wastewater plant (staff photo by James Cullum)

Firefighters from Alexandria and Arlington recovered a contractor who was unable to exit a sewer while working in Eisenhower East yesterday afternoon (Thursday).

The Alexandria Fire Department’s Engine 205 and Battalion 201 responded to 1500 Eisenhower Avenue to rescue the 32-year-old man, who was reportedly trapped in the sewer, according to city dispatches around 4:15 p.m.

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AFD extinguishes Monday vehicle fire in West End parking garage

By James Cullum

Published November 18, 2025 at 10:15AM

AFD extinguished a fire in a parking garage in the 5900 block of Quantrell Avenue (via IAFF Local 2141/Facebook)

The Alexandria Fire Department extinguished a car fire last night (Monday) in an apartment building garage at the 5900 block of Quantrell Avenue.

AFD arrived at the intersection of Quantrell Avenue and N. Armistead Street to find a vehicle fully engulfed in flames. The crew “quickly extinguished the fire and worked to minimize smoke spread to the floors above,” according to a Facebook post from International Association of Firefighters Local 2141.

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AFD extinguishes Sunday blaze at West End dry cleaners

By James Cullum

Published November 3, 2025 at 9:45AM

A fire at Mark Center Cleaners, Nov. 2, 2025 (via Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141/Facebook)

A small fire was extinguished at the Mark Center Cleaners yesterday evening (Sunday).

The Alexandria Fire Department was called at around 5:45 p.m. and arrived at 1458 N. Beauregard Street to find flames coming out of the rear of the one-story building, according to dispatch reports. The fire was extinguished in 10 minutes.

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Inova Alexandria Hospital donates portable lifesaving device to fire department

By James Cullum

Published October 21, 2025 at 2:45PM

Inova Alexandria Hospital President Dr. Rina Bansal shakes hands with Alexandria Fire Chief Felipe Hernandez, Jr. after donating an automated compression device to the department (via Facebook)

Inova Alexandria Hospital recently donated a portable lifesaving device to the Alexandria Fire Department.

The ZOLL AutoPulse resuscitation system can cost upward of $7,500, and “delivers consistent, high-quality chest compressions during cardiac arrest, supporting critical care,” according to the AutoPulse website.