Toronto Fire Services

Overview

The Toronto Fire Services was created in 1998 from the merger of the former fire departments of the original City of Toronto, East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York. It is the largest fire department in Canada and the 5th largest municipal fire department in North America.

History

Fire services in Toronto began in 1874 in the former City of Toronto, and still consisted of volunteer fire companies. Prior to 1874, fire services were composed of poorly trained volunteer companies in the city. The first company was created in 1826 and hook and ladder in 1831. Most were able bodied men who were trained to operate pumps to draw water from the lake. A wooden pumper truck presented to Toronto by British America Assurance Company c.1837 is now found at Black Creek Pioneer Village.

The city's poor fire fighting services were highlighted by the Great Toronto Fire in 1849 and again in 1904. After the latter fire, which destroyed much of Bay Street from The Esplanade West to Melinda Street, the Fire Department in Toronto became a critical city service and has evolved into the professional service that exists today.

Early fire companies

Township Fire Departments

Organization

The Fire Chief (C1), under whom serve five deputy Chiefs (C2, C3, C4, C5, C50) are all based at 4330 Dufferin Street - the central headquarters for both Toronto Fire and Toronto Paramedic Services. The four division commanders (C6, C7, C8, C9) are each based in their respective commands - north, east, south and west.

Former Chief Bill Stewart's retirement was announced on February 13, 2012 and took effect on April 30, 2012.

Jim Sales is a former Markham Fire Chief who also worked as a political bureaucrat in Town of Markham and as General Manager with the City of Barrie prior to his appointment.

Matthew Pegg was appointed as interim Fire Chief in May, 2016 following the departure of Jim Sales.

Previous Chiefs

With the exception of Sales, Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Fire Department Chiefs have been promoted within the department's ranks.

Fire Apparatus

Toronto Fire Department began using motorized vehicles after 1910. Before that, the TFD and previous fire companies used horse drawn engines and ladders. Prior to the 1970s, the TFD had open air vehicles (driver cab not covered and mostly aerial trucks), but since then both the TFD and TFS use full covered vehicles. Prior to the 1950s, TFD used tiller-ladder trucks and since have reverted to smaller aerial units that can operate in narrow streets in Toronto.

The TFS inherited all the vehicles of the fire departments prior to amalgamation. The current strength of TFS consists of 179 vehicles. Since amalgamation, apparatus numbers are numbered by a letter and 3 digits. The first digit stands for the command that the apparatus is in (1-North, 2-East, 3-South, 4-West). The second digit stands for the district within the command that the apparatus is in. The last digit stands for the station within the district within the command that the apparatus is assigned to.

A list of types of vehicles used by the TFS : (prefix letter in brackets with x's as placeholders)

Fire Boats

The Toronto Fire Department and successor Toronto Fire Services has operated fire boats since 1923.

Miscellaneous Units

While not part of the fleet, Box 12 (Box 12 Association) and Support 7 (Greater Toronto Multiple Alarm Association) are canteen trucks run by volunteers and are present at large emergencies to provide food and beverages for Toronto firefighters. Formed in 1975, the GTMAA vehicles are painted with TFS scheme, but not the logo (using the GTMAA patch instead).

In addition, there are various Hazardous Materials Support trucks and a Trench Rescue Support truck that respond to specialized calls. These trucks are unmanned, and are only used by trained personnel when a specialized call is dispatched. TFS also has a fleet of various mechanical support trucks. Smaller compact cars bearing the TFS colours and logo are driven by fire prevention officers and other commanding officers.

Toronto Fire will also acquire use of the Long Range Acoustic Device. It was one of three purchased by the Toronto Police Service for use during the G20 summit in 2010 (1 for Marine Unit, 2 for Public Safety Unit).

Prior to amalgamation, the Scarborough Fire Department had their fleet painted yellow. In the years following amalgamation the markings on the fire trucks were a patchwork of the various schemes used by the former boroughs. All had "Toronto" decaled or painted where the former borough's name used to be and the new Toronto Fire crest was added with the new numbering scheme. Over the past 19 years - post amalgamation - the majority of the older vehicles have either been retired or repainted to match the new scheme: fire engine red with yellow reflective trim and markings.

Fire Stations

The Toronto Fire Services (TFS) currently operates out of 83 Fire Stations (including one open seasonally) throughout the city, organized into 16 Districts. Each District is part of one of four geographical divisions of Command. Each geographical division is divided into four Districts.

North Command

The North Command's Office (Command 1) is located at Fire Station # 116, 1 Esther Shiner Blvd

East Command

The East Command's Office (Command 2) is located at Station 221.

South Command

The South Command's Office (Command 3) is located at Fire Station # 332, 260 Adelaide St. W.

West Command

The West Command's Office (Command 4) is located at Fire Station # 442, 2015 Lawrence Ave. W.

Apparatus Glossary

Gear

Budget Cuts, Vehicle Reduction, Station Closure

As part of the City's 2013 Budget plans, the City of Toronto demanded a 10% cut by all city departments. TFS recommended vehicle reduction at several stations (Stations 213, 215, 324 and 413) and one station to close (Station 424) to meet the 10% reduction target. As well the cuts will lead to fewer firefighters on staff.

In 2014, 4 pumpers (P213, P215, P413, P424) were taken out of service and Station 424 was shut down.