Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services
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|
| People Who Care About You | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1886 |
| Employees | 800 |
| Staffing | Career |
| EMS level | First Responder |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 20 |
| Engines | 14 |
| Trucks | 8 |
| Ladders | 8 |
| Quints | 4 |
| Rescues | 3 |
| Fireboats | 4 |
| Website | |
| VFRS | |
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (V.F.R.S.) was founded in 1886 and today serves the city of Vancouver, British Columbia providing fire, medical first response, rescue and extrication services. In 2014, the V.F.R.S. responded to 50,000 emergency calls.
The Vancouver Volunteer Fire Brigade was established in 1886 with one volunteer hose-wagon company assigned to protect the new city which mainly had lumber mills at the time, and within 16 days of its existence, the city of Vancouver burned to the ground. A week after the fire the city purchased its first fire engine from Ontario, the item arrived in August of that year, which made the volunteers confident that they could handle any situation that occurred. A second engine arrived in 1888 along with two new firehalls growing the strength from one company to three companies. J.H. Charlisle was appointed the city's first fire chief who began motorizing fire brigade...the first motorized fire engine was purchased in 1908 from the Seagrave company of Columbus. By 1911, the department was ranked third best in the world, falling behind London and Leipzing Germany. By 1917 it was completely motorized (no more horse-drawn equipment) and was then recognized as the Vancouver Fire Department. In 1929 the municipalities of South Vancouver and Point Grey amalgamated with the City of Vancouver which also meant the merger of the South Vancouver Fire Department and the Point Grey Fire Brigade, which added six new halls and increased the strength of the department by 100 men.
Since 1893, 48 Vancouver firefighters have died in the line of duty.
Current Fire Chief and General Manager - Darrel Reid
There are currently 20 Fire Halls located throughout the city of Vancouver, organized into three Battalions.
The VFRS has operated fireboats since 1928 when the city introduced the J.H. Carlisle. It currently operates 4 boats, Fireboats 1, 3, 4 and 5. The boats are shared under an agreement with the neighbouring municipalities of Burnaby, Port Moody and the city and district of North Vancouver. Fireboats 3, 4 and 5 were part of a fleet of five aluminum boats designed by naval engineering firm Robert Allan Ltd. and built in 1992. Fireboat 1 was built by MetalCraft Marine of Kingston, Ontario and arrived in 2016. A second boat will arrive in 2017, at which time two of the 1992 built boats will be retired, while one will be kept as a reserve.
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Wikipedia