I am a 911 Police/Fire Dispatch Supervisor. A (1) Alarm Fire is the regular response assignment to a call. If it as actual fire to a business/residence that would entail 1 Battalion Chief, 2 Engines, 1 Truck (ladder) and 1 Rescue unit. If the call goes to a second alarm, the same group of equipment is sent as the first giving you a total of 2 Battalion Chiefs, 4 Engines, 2 Trucks and 2 Rescue units. And so on... Hope this helps and if you need any more info shoot me an email.