Department Overview & Mission Statement

Department Overview

The Des Peres Department of Public Safety was originally formed in 1958 as a paid fire department with three paid members and twenty-seven volunteer firefighters.  At that time, the city had a town marshal and decided to study the feasibility and possibility of combining the two functions of fire and police services.

In 1962, the present department was formed with about five members, and since then, the department has operated under the fully-integrated public safety configuration, whereby, most of its members are cross-trained as certified firefighters, certified police officers and licensed emergency medical technicians or paramedics.

Currently, the Des Peres Department of Public Safety is comprised of 45 full-time officers and 3 full-time civilian support staff.  Most of the commissioned personnel work a 48-hour shift In December 2011, the city contracted to have all emergency fire and medical calls handled by Kirkwood Communications.  In April of 2021, Kirkwood Communications also took over receiving and dispatching all police emergency calls.

The cross-training of our officers has benefited the community on many occasions an in many incidences. It takes a unique individual to perform all three tasks that are required, along with the enormous amount of necessary training.  

The Insurance Service Organization (ISO) collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. In each of those communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data using their Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).  ISO then assigns a Public Protection Classification form 1 to 10.  Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection and Class 10 indicates that the area's fire-suppression program does not met ISO's minimum criteria.  

The City of Des Peres enjoys a ISO Public Protection Class rating of 4.  Of Missouri's 1,784 communities rated by ISO there are 262 communities with a rating of Class 4 or better.  Des Peres is therefore in the upper 15% of Missouri communities in this regard.  

Mission Statement

The Des Peres Department of Public Safety is committed to protecting life, health, property, and environment by providing the community with quality police, fire, and EMS services. To achieve this, we commit ourselves to the following objectives:
  • Continue education, both formal and informal; share with the community, which we serve, our knowledge and expertise; educate our community in matters of Public Safety.
  • In working aggressively, to provide effective police patrol and follow up investigations; to assist in the prevention of hazardous conditions which may lead to fire or other life-threatening emergencies and to assure the best prehospital medical care.
  • To respond promptly to all calls for service in a professional and safe manner; to keep our actions above reproach and maintain a high ethical standard.
  • To provide these services, the department recognizes that each member is a vital part of the organization and should be provided with training and the necessary equipment to perform his/her job effectively. Each member recognized that he/she is accountable to others in the organization.