The City's first overall pay structure for the Fire Department was established in 1889 to attract veteran talent from throughout the country. The City Charter Amendment allowed for the payment of firemen then known as Foremen and Extramen:

• Foremen received $12.50 a month.
• Extramen were paid $10.00 a month.
• Engine Drivers and Hose Carriage Driver ($75.00 a month) made considerably more because of their additional responsibilities.
• Top pay was reserved for Engineers ($100 a month) who had the duty of maintaining the fire steamers. As the fire team left its quarter to respond to an alarm, the Engineer rode on the rear step of the steamer. His first job was to ignite the boiler.

This full time paid department expected firemen to be available 24 hours at a time. The first schedule that was set up required the firemen to work 29 days straight, for 24 hour periods. They were given one hour off for meals per day and one full day off per month. Due to this demanding schedule, the families of these firemen lived in the fire station permanently.

Chief Almgren's reign as Chief Engineer marked an era of expansion and innovation for the San Diego City Fire Department. He immediately set out to change the work schedule. Fire fighters went from working 24 hours a day, 28 days in a row with one day off, to 12 hour rotating shifts on a 28 consecutive day schedule with two days off.

Department standards were significantly raised by the introduction of training and physical conditioning programs. A merit system was established as a more equitable means of selecting and promoting personnel.

San Diego became the first major fire department on the West Coast to be totally mechanized. In 1917, the last team of fire horses was turned over to the City Yards where they continued their service to the City by hauling trash to the dump.

This decade also brought about several firsts for minorities in the San Diego Fire Department. In July of 1918, Alfredo Salazar became the first Mexican-American Fireman hired by the Department. One year later, history was made again by Timothy Augustus Williams, who became the first Black Fireman for the SDFD.

In 1919, the San Diego Fire Department christened the first gasoline powered fire boat in the world. The boat, the "Bill Kettner" was built from the keel up at the San Diego Fire Department shop, by fire fighters. The fire boat had the ability to pump ten powerful hose streams and had two deck guns.

In 1935, a quarter century after he began as Chief Engineer, Louis Almgren retired from the Fire Department due to ill health. Chief Almgren is remembered for putting the San Diego Fire Department on a path of high professionalism and performance. Almgren was succeeded by Chief John Parrish, the first to carry the title of "Fire Chief" rather than "Chief Engineer."

During WWII, San Diego saw a major boom in population and building construction. Homes were being built on canyon rims throughout the City and were fast becoming a fire problem. In July of 1942, nine buildings on the rim of Mission Valley were badly damaged or destroyed by fire. Again, in September of 1944, forty buildings along the rim of the 30th Street canyon were damaged by a wildland fire.

After 12 years, Chief Parrish turned the Department over to George Courser in 1947. Courser took over a department which had recently lost nearly a score of its veterans through a mass retirement because of a pension change.

San Diego received a Police and Fire Patrol Boat in August of 1948 and named it in honor of former Fire Chief Louis Almgren. The boat was equipped with twin engines, high-pressure pump and nozzles, CO2 Extinguishers, two way radios, and life saving devices. The Chief Almgren was manned 24 hours a day by a crew of two firemen. Besides fire fighting and life saving, their duties included patrolling the bay, yacht basin, sport fishing docks and commercial fishing piers.

In 1980 the SDFD began training all its personnel as EMT's. This marked the start of a new modern day image as a fire department. No longer would we just respond to fires and rescues. Responding to medical calls brought a new challenge for the Department as the number and scope of emergencies greatly increased. With a booming City and the addition of medical aid calls, the response volume doubled in one year.

Fire Chief John Delotch became San Diego's first black Chief in 1985. Under his direction, the Department committed minorities to command positions, including Battalion Chief, Assistant Fire Marshal, and Captain. Among Chief Delotch's many contributions to the Department was a new emphasis on the Incident Command System and introduction of the EMT-D certification to fire fighters. The EMT-D program was the first in the nation where First Responders had the ability to assess and defibrillate a person in cardiac arrest prior to the arrival of Paramedics.

Restructuring of City Services in 1998 brought the Lifeguard service under the direction of the Fire Chief, and the San Diego Fire Department was renamed San Diego Fire and Life Safety Services. This clumsy new name was not warmly welcomed by members who preferred the SDFD which had stood for more than 100 years.

Additionally, a first-of-its-kind EMS system was created. Under a public-private partnership, San Diego Medical Services is a Paramedic ambulance system staffed by San Diego Fire Paramedics and EMTs as well as Rural Metro Paramedics and EMTs. Prior to 1997, all Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances were staffed with two Paramedics. This new system called for one Paramedic and one EMT on each ALS ambulance. To meet the County requirement for two Paramedics at the scene of all emergencies, all Fire Engines in the City were staffed with one Fire fighter/Paramedic.

This decade also saw continued growth and expansion in the City as well as the Department. Fire Stations 41, 42, and 43 were built.

Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, came to San Diego Fire in April 2002 from the Anaheim Fire Department. Chief Bowman's arrival marked a time of new ideas and progress for the Department. Among his contributions, Chief Bowman pushed for new apparatus, opened dialogue among the ranks to address operational issues, and set short, medium and long-term goals for the Department. He also changed the name of the Department back to SDFD:  the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

After four years leading the Department, Bowman retired and Assistant Fire Chief Tracy Jarman stepped in to fill his shoes. Chief Jarman had risen through the ranks of the Department to become the 15th Fire Chief for the San Diego Fire Department, and its first woman Fire Chief.

October 2009 saw another changing of the Fire Chief as Chief Jarman retired after 25 years of service. To take her place was Chief Javier Mainar. Chief Mainar was hired in 1980 and spent a large portion of his career as a Captain in the Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) unit.