Calgary Fire Department

The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) provides fire services for the city of Calgary, Alberta.

The department was created on 25 August 1885 as the Calgary Hook, Ladder and Bucket Corps.

As of October 2024, the department has 43 stations. The departments employs over 1,500 personnel in both operational and support roles. Their headquarters is located at 4144 11th Street SE.

History The department was created on 25 August 1885 as the Calgary Hook, Ladder and Bucket Corps and a chemical engine was ordered soon after. The first Captain was George Constantine. Prior to the formation of the Corps, wells had been dug throughout the town in 1884 at the recommendation of George Murdoch, Mayor of the Town of Calgary. In November 1886, Calgary experienced a conflagration, which would become to be known as the Calgary Fire of 1886. Before the fire there was much disorder in the town due to both George Murdoch and James Riley claiming to be and acting as Mayor. This resulted in a slow response to the fire which can be attributed to the absence of a functioning local government. As neither George Murdoch or James Reilly was capable of effectively governing the town, the newly ordered chemical engine was held in the Canadian Pacific Railway storage yard due to lack of payment. Members of the department broke into the CPR storage yard on the day of the fire to retrieve the engine. Later that month a meeting was held which saw Steve Jarrett be elected as the first chief and Bob Ogburn as Assistant Chief. May 1887 saw the opening of Calgary's first fire hall: which had been recommended at the meeting in November 1886, and was approved by Town Council shortly after.

In 1887, following a disagreement between Town Council and the current fire brigade, current Chief Frank Dick and his members resigned. They sold their furniture at the fire hall and donated the proceeded to the hospital. Following the resignation of the brigade, the Mayor and Council proceeded to appoint a high salaried chief and organize a brigade. The new brigade consisted of the Mayor and Council and would-be fire-fighters. When it came to a serious fire, they weren't well organized and in a short time the citizens of Calgary were calling for the reinstatement of the old brigade.

The reinstatement occurred on 23 July 1889, when a meeting was held and a decision was agreed upon by the two bodies to have the regular brigade again take charge. The hall and appliances were accordingly turned over to the original brigade.

In January 1890, the brigade began to look to purchase band instruments. After receiving instruments, uniforms, music stands, etc. from a Mr. D. W. Marsh a band was organised. The band carried on with varied success under different leaders for a number of years.

In June 1897, a serious flood occurred and the department was called out to rescue residents on the water front. For their services the council gave the department Can$75 .

1901 saw the department hold its first church parade. New uniforms were purchased for the band at a cost of about Can$500. During the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York during this year, the department acted as a special police. They had their hall elaborately decorated but the Duke and Duchess did not see it.

Prior to 1909, it was a volunteer fire department. In 1909, 40 full-time firefighters were hired. In 1910, it purchased its first motorized fire truck.

Organization

Fire Suppression Staff

Chief Officers The Fire Service uses the term "Chief Officer" to describe individuals who are in a Chief role. These "Chief Officers" are responsible for overseeing management functions as well as supervising fire operations and other services. In the Calgary Fire Department, the Chief Officers are: Fire Chief – One Chief Officer oversees the entire Calgary Fire Department (CFD) Deputy Chief/Manager – Five Chief Officers oversee the individual divisions of the CFD. These divisions are: Operations (Deputy Chief) Operations Support (Deputy Chief) Risk Management (Deputy Chief) Organization Effectiveness & Engagement (Deputy Chief) Workforce Support (Manager) Business Support (Manager) Respect & Inclusion (Leader) Corporate Consultant Assistant Deputy Chief – They are tasked to Fire Rescue Services and the remainder of the Assistant Deputy Chiefs are deployed to other divisions where needed. Battalion Chief – Firefighters work on a four platoon (shift) system (A, B, C, & D). Each platoon is overseen by a Battalion Chief, so in total there are four Battalion Chiefs. District Chief – The city is divided into 6 districts. Each platoon within a district is supervised by a District Chief, therefore there are 6 District Chiefs at any given time (one in each district) and 24 in total. District chiefs are now classified as a number rather than geographical location(Changed in 2023)

Company officers

Company officers are in charge of each crew. Company officers include: Fire Captain – each fire engine (pumper truck) is supervised by a fire captain on each platoon. As there is an engine in each fire hall, the captain is in charge of the fire hall as well. Fire Lieutenant – every other fire apparatus is supervised by a lieutenant. These include aerial trucks, rescue trucks, hazmat trucks, etc. Every hall has an engine, but only select halls have other apparatus, such as these.

Firefighters Firefighters are the main workforce of the fire department. They include: Senior Firefighter – one on each Fire Engine (pumper truck) Firefighter – drive the trucks and ride in the back Probationary Firefighter – placed on Fire Engines as needed, ride in the back with the Senior Firefighter

Support Staff The Fire Department relies on numerous uniformed day staff to fill various roles. 255 local, uniformed, support staff members are firefighters who have moved into a different role within the Department. The Fire Marshal oversees the inspectors and investigators within the division of Risk Management. Each Support Section is also run by a Coordinator. These include: Hazardous Materials Coordinator Emergency Management Coordinator Technical Teams Coordinator Recruitment Coordinator Fire Inspections Coordinator Fire Investigation Coordinator Health and Safety Coordinator Community Safety Coordinator Training Coordinators Medical Services Coordinator

Day Staff divisions also have Officers which include: Hazardous Materials Officers Recruitment Officers Health and Safety Officers Community Safety Officers Safety Codes Officers Technical Services Officers Public Information Officer Training Officers Fire Investigators

The Fire Department also employs many other civilian staff in numerous roles.

Rank Insignia

Fire Suppression Staff CHIEF OFFICERSCOMPANY OFFICERSFIREFIGHTERSFire ChiefDeputy ChiefAssistant Deputy ChiefBattalion ChiefDistrict ChiefFire CaptainFire LieutenantSenior FirefighterFirefighterRecruit FirefighterRank EpaulettesNo InsigniaNo InsigniaBlue Striped Epaulettes (at Training only)

Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic If a Firefighter, Company Officer, or Chief Officer is also qualified as a Primary Care Paramedic or Advanced Care Paramedic, they wear the Star of Life insignia on their fire helmet.

Support Staff Fire MarshalSupport Staff CoordinatorsSupport Staff OfficersFire Inspector IRank EpaulettesDivision Name Embroidered Below Stripes (ex: Training, Community Safety, etc.)Division Name Embroidered Below Stripes (ex: Training, Community Safety, etc.)"Safety Codes Officer" Embroidered Below StripeNotesHead of the Fire Investigations and InspectionsHealth and Safety Coordinator / Fire Inspections Coordinator / Fire Investigations Coordinator / Hazardous Materials Coordinator / Emergency Management Coordinator / Technical Teams Coordinator / Community Services Coordinator / Wellness and Fitness Coordinator / Recruitment Coordinator / Technical Teams Coordinator / Medical Services Coordinator / Training CoordinatorTraining Officer / Health and Safety Officer / Hazardous Materials Officer / Emergency Management Officer / Public Information Officer / Community Safety Officer / Assistant to the Medical Director / Technical Services Officer / Fire Inspector II / Shift Investigator

Helmet Colors Fire Suppression StaffHelmet ColourChief Officers Fire Chief Deputy Chief Assistant Deputy Chief Battalion Chief District ChiefWHITECompany Officers Fire Captain Fire Lieutenant Acting Fire LieutenantREDFirefighters Senior Firefighter Firefighter Probationary FirefighterYELLOWSupport StaffFire MarshalWHITESupport Staff Coordinators Hazardous Materials Coordinator Emergency Management Coordinator Health and Safety Coordinator Wellness & Fitness Coordinator Recruitment CoordinatorBLUETraining OfficerREDSupport Staff Officers Health and Safety Officer Hazardous Materials Officer Medical Services Officer Public Information Officer Community Safety Officer Safety Codes Officers (Fire Inspector I and II)BLUEFire Cadet Observer

Fire Stations and Apparatus There are 43 fire stations in Calgary, operating 24 hours a day. Apparatus designations are denoted by the station number followed by the apparatus type. Calgary International Airport Crash Rescue previously operated as CFD Station 13 until 1 June 2019, when the airport contracted firefighting services to Pro-Tec Fire Services of Canada. In 2022, City of Calgary announced Station 3 will be located at 1212 11 Ave SE. Apparatus with mounted ladders have been name changed from Aerials to either Ladders (Straight stick ladder) or Towers (Ladder with platform) in 2023.

No.NeighbourhoodEngine(s)LadderRescueMiscellaneousAddressBuild YearDepartment HeadquartersHighfieldSafety Chief, Chiefs Vehicle (x2), CFD Community Outreach Car, Haztec 1&3, Hazmat Support, CFD Shuttle Transport, Misc. Vehicle4144 11 Street S.E.20171Downtown1 Engine, Engine 3011 Ladder, 1 RRV (medical response unit) 450 1 Street S.E.19732Beltline2 Engine, Engine 302 2 High Rise Support, 2 Parkade Unit, 2 RRV (Medical Unit),1010 10 Avenue S.W.19714Vista Heights4 Engine 4 Haz-Mat, 4 Air/Light,1991 18 Avenue N.E.20045South Calgary5 Engine District Chief 2

Investigator 13129 14 Street S.W.20126Eau Claire6 Engine6 Ladder 6 Aquatic Rescue6 Boat Tow, 6 Jet Boat360 8 Street S.W.20107Mount Pleasant7 Engine 2708 4 St NW20178Rosscarrock8 Engine8 Ladder8 Rescue8 Bush Buggy1720 45 Street S.W.19809Ogden9 Engine 2515 78 Avenue S.E.198110Briar Hill10 Engine 10 Technical Rescue10 Technical Support 1909 16 Avenue N.W.199811Windsor Park11 Engine 11 Technical Rescue11 Technical Support5506 4 Street S.W.201412Marlborough12 Engine, Engine 312 12 Ladder123 44 Street S.E.197414Haysboro14 Engine, Engine 314 9840 Horton Road S.W.198915Bowness15 Engine 6328 35 Avenue N.W.196416 Highfield16 Engine District Chief 1, Battalion Chief, Air Monitoring Vehicle, Pod Truck 1&2, Mobile Command Unit Flood pod, Hazmat pod (x2), Mobile Fan, 16 Rat-Rail, 16 Hazmat Recovery 4124 11 Street S.E.201817Varsity17 Engine17 Ladder 17 Haz-Mat3740 32 Avenue N.W.197118Huntington Hills18 Engine 415 68 Avenue N.W.197519Parkland19 Engine19 Tower 13807 Parkland Boulevard S.E.197520Lincoln Park20 Engine District Chief 32800 Peacekeepers Way S.W.197821Silver Springs21 Engine 21 Tender 21 Boat 21 Boat Tow District Chief 4 209 Silvergrove Drive N.W.197822Temple22 Engine, Engine 322 7199 Temple Drive N.E197923Southview23 Engine23 Rescue 2727 26 Avenue S.E.198224Cedarbrae24 Engine 2607 106 Avenue S.W.197825Foothills25 Engine25 Tower 25 Tender4705 76 Avenue S.E.1982 26Midnapore26 Engine 26 Rescue 450 Midpark Way S.E.200227Stonegate27 Engine 27 Rescue 110-11358 Barlow Trail N.E.201728Edgemont28 Engine 7925 Edgemont Boulevard N.W.198729Coach Hill29 Engine 7027 Coach Hill Road S.W.198830McKenzie Towne30 Engine30 Ladder30 Boat Tow, 30 Jet Boat6 McKenzie Towne Gate S.E.199831Country Hills31 Engine 31 Tower 31 Bush Buggy,