Fonds - Kitchener Fire Department fonds

Firefighting was a community event before formal fire departments existed. People had to grab buckets and water was pumped from wells by a wooden pump on each property. People formed lines passed buckets after bucket down the line until the fires was extinguished or until the structure was destroyed. Upon incorporation of the Village of Berlin, the first fire department began in 1854. Enoch Ziegler was appointed the first fire chief of Berlin. There were 75 men in the bucket brigade on a volunteer basis. Soon after a hand fire engine was purchased; it worked by people pulling the engine with a rope and water was discharged through a hose by hand pumping two long horizontal bars.

In 1857 a school house was converted into a combination fire hall and Council Chamber. Town Council had a fire station built on Frederick St. in 1874 and purchased a Silsby Steam Fire Engine which was pulled by horses. In 1888 the Berlin Fire Brigade was formed. Rules and Regulations were adopted in 1889. The Fire Brigade became a combination of full-time and volunteer firemen by 1906. Fire Station 2 was built on Duke St. (then Edwin St.) in 1913 and the first motorized engine was used in 1914. Horses were rarely used by 1921 as the department was mostly motorized.

Fire Station 3 was opened in 1954 on Ottawa St. N. and Fire Headquarters was moved from Frederick St. to the new building on Highland Rd. in 1960. The size of the department grew to 65 men. Fire Station 4 opened on Fairway Rd in 1964 and Station 2 was moved from Duke St. to Guelph St. in 1965. By the late 1960’s the fire departments size was up to 138 men. Fire Station 5 opened in 1976 on Westmount Rd.

With the city’s population growing in 1993, new Fire Station 6 opened on Pioneer Dr., while Station 5 was relocated to Queens Blvd in 1998. The new Fire Headquarters building opened in 1999 on Strasburg Rd. with a bell tower which is symbolic of historic fire halls and also has a ladder sculpture located at the front of the building. The new Station 2 opened in 2000 on Lancaster St. W. and the new Station 3 opened in 2001 on Ottawa St. N. With continued city growth, the new Fire Station 7 opened in 2008 on Huron Rd.

Today most of the former fire stations still exist and are used for other purposes.

Station Address In Service Notes
Fire Station 1 King & Frederick Streets 1874-1960 Original Berlin Fire Brigade station(building no longer exists)
Fire Station 2 318 Duke St. W. 1913-1965 Former Berlin Fire Station 2 now apartments and business
Fire Station 3 15 Ottawa St. N. 1954-2001 Used as offices by adjoining church
Fire Station 1 (Headquarters) 150 Highland Rd. W. 1960-199 Converted into an apartment building
Fire Station 4 340 Fairway Rd. S. 1964-1998 Replaced by a cafe
Fire Station 2 629 Guelph St. 1965-1999 Corporate offices
Fire Station 5 1000 Westmount Rd. E. 1976-1998 Daycare centre

The Kitchener Fire Department protects the community from fire, life-threatening emergencies and dangerous conditions while equipping the citizens with the community with the knowledge they need to keep sage.

The core services the fire department provides are:
• Basic life support services
• Direct Detect fire-monitoring system
• Prevention – arson prevention and outdoor fireplaces
• Public education
• Rescue
• Suppression

To provide the core services to the community, the department has in-house:
• Communications and dispatching
• Staff training
• Apparatus and equipment maintenance and repair
• Administration

The City owns and operates seven fire stations across the city:
• Fire Headquarters: 270 Strasburg Rd.
• Fire Station 2: 187 Lancaster St. W.
• Fire Station 3: 1035 Ottawa St. N.
• Fire Station 4: 25 Fairway Rd. N.
• Fire Station 5: 170 Queens Blvd.
• Fire Station 6: 149 Pioneer Dr.
• Fire Station 7: 1440 Huron Rd.

In 2012 a new computer system that dispatches fire and ambulance simultaneously began and had firefighters arriving at medical emergencies up to 40 seconds faster. The City of Kitchener fire department was the first in the province of Ontario to use the new computer dispatch system called EMS-TIF (Emergency Medical Services Technical Interoperability Framework). The Kitchener Fire Department dispatches fire calls for Kitchener, Waterloo and the townships of Wilmot, Wellesley and Woolwich. The present size of the department is over 200 men and women firefighters and each station is equipped with state of the art pumpers, aerials and rescue trucks.

The Kitchener Firefighters are very active with charities within the City of Kitchener and have their own Charities Committee which has a mandate to raise money for Local Children’s Charities. They also have their own firefighters association.

The fonds consist of four series, which comprise photographs, association material, promotional material and collective agreements.
Title based on the contents of the fonds.
Transferred to the archives from Fire Department and Human Resources.