Toronto Fire Services

Fire service of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
the Toronto fire department

Toronto Fire Services (TFS), commonly called Toronto Fire, provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Fire Services is currently the largest municipal fire department in Canada.

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 the Great Fire of Toronto 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 full time service that exists today. 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. As well the cuts will lead to fewer firefighters on staff. In 2018, 10 additional staff were added to support the creation of a permanent Toronto Community Housing Fire Safety Task Force. Also in 2018, one additional crew of 21 Operations Firefighters was approved to support the opening of the new Downsview fire station.

The fire chief (C1), as well as the 4 commanding deputy chiefs,(C2, C3, C4, C5), are all based at 4330 Dufferin Street – the central headquarters for both Toronto Fire and Toronto Paramedic Services. There are four division commanders (C6, C7, C8, C9). Each division commander is based in their respective commands – north, east, south and west. Alan F. Speed became the first fire chief of the amalgamated Toronto Fire Services in November 1997. He served in that post until his retirement in April 2003. Following Speed's retirement, William (Bill) Stewart was appointed fire chief on May 1, 2003, and served until his retirement on April 30, 2012. Jim Sales worked as a political bureaucrat in the Town of Markham and as general manager with the City of Barrie prior to his appointment as Toronto fire chief in 2012. Sales was fire chief in Markham from 2000 to 2001 and in Edmonton from 1988 to 2000. Matthew Pegg was appointed as interim fire chief in May 2016, following Sales' departure. Pegg became permanent chief in April 2017. Pegg served as deputy fire chief of Administration prior to being appointed fire chief.

RankFire chiefDeputy fire chiefDivision commanderPlatoon chiefDistrict chiefCaptainFirst class firefighterSecond class firefighterThird class firefighterProbationary firefighterInsigniaNo insigniaNo insigniaNo insigniaNo insigniaHelmet colourWhiteWhite WhiteWhiteWhiteRedBlackBlackBlackBlackDescriptionGeneral managerSecond in command of TFS. Each deputy is responsible for a specific portfolio. Responsible for all four shifts within one of the geographic divisions (north, east, south, or west) of the city. Responsible for a city wide division (communications, investigations, mechanical, data analysis, etc.). Responsible for all fire stations within all districts of a command for one shift (north, east, south, or west)Responsible for all fire stations within a district (e. g. 11 District or 42 District)In charge of one fire truck and crewNotes"Chief" marked on the back of his or her bunker jacket"Deputy Chief" marked on the back of their bunker jacket"Division Commander" marked on the back of their bunker jacket"Platoon Chief" marked on the back of their bunker jacket"District Chief" marked on the back of their bunker jacket"Probationary" marked in red on the front of their helmet

The Toronto Fire Department and successor Toronto Fire Services has operated fire boats since 1923. Fireboat Charles A. Reed was the first fireboat operated by the service; it was a wood hull boat that entered service in 1923 and remained in use until 1964. The service presently has two fireboats in service. Fireboat William Lyon Mackenzie entered service in 1964, replacing Charles A. Reed. Fireboat William Lyon Mackenzie serves as the department's main fireboat and icebreaker. In 2006, the Toronto Fire Services acquired Fireboat Sora, a light utility boat built in 1982 for the Canadian Coast Guard. The Sora was retired from TFS on October 31, 2015, replaced by Fireboat William Thornton. Fireboat William Thornton is a type 400 cutter, built in 1982 for the Canadian Coast Guard, and was acquired by the Toronto Fire Service in 2015.

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 1949, the Box 12 Association is Toronto's oldest fire canteen unit and serves firefighters in the west end and the downtown core. The unit is named after alarm box #12, which was pulled to trigger the response to the Great Toronto Fire of 1904. This canteen has served in a number of high profile multiple alarm fires in recent history, including the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto six alarm fire in 2017. The Box 12 Association celebrated 70 years of continuous volunteer service in 2018, with Mayor John Tory in attendance. Each year, an award named after this canteen is presented by the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters Association to a fire service member for voluntarism. Formed in 1975, the GTMAA vehicle is painted with TFD 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 a 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). Toronto Fire Services operates and manages both the heavy urban search and rescue (HUSAR) team and the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) response team on behalf of the City of Toronto and under contract with the Province of Ontario for provincial deployment as required as CAN TF3. 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 since 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.

The Toronto Fire Services currently operates out of 83 fire stations throughout the city, organized into 15 districts. A 16th district (District 12) was disbanded in 2013. Its 4 stations were absorbed into the surrounding districts. Each district is part of one of four geographical divisions of command. There are 4 command areas: north, east, south and west. With the exception of North Division, the other geographic divisions are divided into four districts. Several companies have been disbanded or reassigned over the years.

The South Command's office (Command 3) is located at Fire Station 332. There are 22 stations in South Command. Station#District #NeighbourhoodPumper company Rescue company Aerial company or tower companyDistrict chief or platoon chief unitMiscellaneous unitsAddress/suburbBuild year31131Yonge and St ClairPumper 311 20 Balmoral Avenue191131231YorkvillePumper 312 Ladder 312District chief 31 34 Yorkville Street1876/197331331St. James TownPumper 313 Squad 313411 Bloor Street East196731431Church and WellesleyPumper 314 12 Grosvenor Street192631531Kensington MarketPumper 315 Ladder 315 Parade unit132 Bellevue Avenue1878/197332132Leaside Rescue 321 231 McRae Drive194632232Pape VillagePumper 322 Aerial 322 256 Cosburn Avenue, East York199432332GreektownPumper 323 Haz Mat 323153 Chatham Avenue, East York196332432RiverdalePumper 324 District chief 32 840 Gerrard Street East193232532Regent Park Rescue 325Ladder 325 Air/Light 325475 Dundas Street East195432632Leslieville Pumper 326 Haz Mat Support 32630 Knox Avenue198033133Trinity BellwoodsPumper 331 Ladder 331 Squad 33133 Claremont Street196833233Entertainment DistrictPumper 332 Platoon chief 30District chief 33Command 30High Rise 332Personnel Transport 1260 Adelaide Street West197133333St LawrencePumper 333 Tower 333 Tower 1207 Front Street East197033433HarbourfrontPumper 334 Fireboat (x3)339 Queens Quay West200033533Ward's IslandPumper 335Pumper 335B Rapid Attack Vehicle 335235 Cibola Avenue199234134Oakwood Village Rescue 341Aerial 341 Multi Purpose Vehicle 341Car 5341555 Oakwood Avenue, York196834234Corso ItaliaPumper 342 106 Ascot Avenue191234334Hillcrest VillagePumper 343 65 Hendrick Avenue191534434The AnnexPumper 344 Pumper 5344240 Howland Avenue191134534Davenport Rescue 345 District chief 34Box 121285 Dufferin Street196334634CNE Grounds Pumper 346 90 Quebec Street1912