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.

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 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 part of the city's 2013 Budget plans, the City of Toronto demanded a 10% cut by all city departments. TFS, under then Fire Chief James Sales, recommended vehicle reductions 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, four pumpers (P213, P215, P413, P424) were taken out of service and Station 424 was shut down. In 2017, under Fire Chief Matthew Pegg, the TFS Transformation Plan was developed and introduced, which included a comprehensive Inclusion Plan. An update on the status of the numerous initiatives that are included in this plan was provided as part of the 2018 budget process. 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.

Preceding fire services

Fire companies

Fire departments

Organization

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. Pegg retired October 4, 2024 and will be replaced on interim by Deputy Chief Larry Cocco. On November 11, 2024, it was announced that Jim Jessop would assume the role of fire chief.

Previous chiefs

With the exception of Sales, Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Fire Department chiefs have been promoted within the department's ranks. Peter Ferguson was deputy chief of the North York Fire Department before becoming fire chief of the Toronto Fire Department

Rank structure

Communications

Structure/building fires

Operations

Equipment

Fire apparatus

Toronto Fire Department began using motorized vehicles after 1911. The first motorized pumper was placed in the College St station on October 18, 1911. 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 enclosed and mostly aerial trucks), but since then both the TFD and TFS use fully enclosed cab 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 assignments consist of an alpha-numeric callsign. The alphabetic prefix identifies the type of apparatus. The following three numerical digits identify the station the apparatus is located in. The first digit identifies the division (Command) that the station is in (1-north, 2-East, 3-South, 4-West). The second digit identifies the District within the Command that the station is in. The last digit identifies 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 "xxx" as the station placeholders) is listed below:

Fire boats

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.

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 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.

Fire stations

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.

North Command

The North Command's office (Command 1) is located at Fire Station 114. There are 21 stations in the North Command

East Command

The East Command's office (Command 2) is located at Fire Station 221. There are 22 stations in the East Command.

South Command

The South Command's office (Command 3) is located at Fire Station 332. There are 22 stations in South Command.

West Command

The West Command's office (Command 4) is located at Fire Station 442. Fire Station 424 at 462 Runnymede Road closed permanently in 2014. There are 19 stations in West Command.