The department was created on 25 August 1885 as the Calgary Hook, Ladder and Bucket Corps.
As of April 2023, 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 chemicalengine 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.[1] 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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[2]
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.[3]
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 .[4]
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.[5]
Prior to 1909, it was a volunteer fire department. In 1909, 40 full-time firefighters were hired.[6] In 1910, it purchased its first motorized fire truck.[7]
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:
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 OFFICERS
COMPANY OFFICERS
FIREFIGHTERS
Fire Chief
Deputy Chief
Assistant Deputy Chief
Battalion Chief
District Chief
Fire Captain
Fire Lieutenant
Senior Firefighter
Firefighter
Recruit Firefighter
Rank Epaulettes
No Insignia
No Insignia
Blue 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 Marshal
Support Staff Coordinators
Support Staff Officers
Fire Inspector I
Rank Epaulettes
Division Name Embroidered Below Stripes (ex: Training, Community Safety, etc.)
Division Name Embroidered Below Stripes (ex: Training, Community Safety, etc.)
"Safety Codes Officer" Embroidered Below Stripe
Notes
Head of the Fire Investigations and Inspections
Health 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 Coordinator
Training 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 Staff
Helmet Colour
Chief Officers
Fire Chief
Deputy Chief
Assistant Deputy Chief
Battalion Chief
District Chief
WHITE
Company Officers
Fire Captain
Fire Lieutenant
Acting Fire Lieutenant
RED
Firefighters
Senior Firefighter
Firefighter
Probationary Firefighter
YELLOW
Fire Response Paramedic
BLUE
Support Staff
Fire Marshal
WHITE
Support Staff Coordinators
Hazardous Materials Coordinator
Emergency Management Coordinator
Health and Safety Coordinator
Wellness & Fitness Coordinator
Recruitment Coordinator
BLUE
Training Officer
RED
Support 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)
BLUE
Fire Cadet
Observer
BLACK
Fire Stations and Apparatus
There are 43 fire stations in Calgary, operating 24 hours a day.[8]
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.
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.
2018
17
Varsity
17 Engine
17 Ladder
17 Haz-Mat, 17 Bush Buggy
3740 32 Avenue N.W.
1971
18
Huntington Hills
18 Engine
415 68 Avenue N.W.
1975
19
Parkland
19 Engine
19 Tower
13807 Parkland Boulevard S.E.
1975
20
Lincoln Park
20 Engine
20 Fire Rescue Paramedic (FRP1 ATV inside)
District Chief 3
2800 Peacekeepers Way S.W.
1978
21
Silver Springs
21 Engine
21 Tender 21 Boat 21 Boat Tow
District Chief 4
209 Silvergrove Drive N.W.
1978
22
Temple
22 Engine, Engine 322
7199 Temple Drive N.E
1979
23
Southview
23 Engine
23 Ladder
23 Bush Buggy
2727 26 Avenue S.E.
1982
24
Cedarbrae
24 Engine
2607 106 Avenue S.W.
1978
25
Foothills
25 Engine
25 Tower
25 Tender (Yellow)
4705 76 Avenue S.E.
1982
26
Midnapore
26 Engine
26 Rescue
450 Midpark Way S.E.
2002
27
Stonegate
27 Engine
27 Rescue
110-11358 Barlow Trail N.E.
2017
28
Edgemont
28 Engine
7925 Edgemont Boulevard N.W.
1987
29
Coach Hill
29 Engine
7027 Coach Hill Road S.W.
1988
30
McKenzie Town
30 Engine
30 Ladder
30 Boat Tow, 30 Jet Boat
6 McKenzie Towne Gate S.E.
1998
31
Country Hills
31 Engine
31 Tower
31 Bush Buggy,
31 Generator
11955 Country Village Link N.E.
2005
32
Saddle Ridge
32 Engine
32 Ladder
District Chief 5
800 Saddletowne Circle N.E.
2010
33
Signal Hill
33 Engine
3800 69 Street S.W.
2008
34
Royal Vista
34 Engine
34 Ladder
34 Rescue
16 Royal Vista Way N.W.
2016
35
Valley Ridge
35 Engine
11280 Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W.
2009
36
Hidden Valley
36 Engine
10071 Hidden Valley Drive N.W.
2001
37
Evergreen
37 Engine
2511 Eversyde Avenue S.W.
2013
38
Skyview Ranch
38 Engine
3 Skyview Springs Cove N.E.
2009
39
Douglas Glen
39 Engine
39 Rescue
District Chief 6, Investigator 2, K-9 unit,
39 Hazmat
4199 114 Ave S.E.
2012
40
Symons Valley
40 Engine
12920 Symons Valley Road N.W.
2013
41
Seton
41 Engine
3790 Seton Drive S.E.
2013
42
Tuscany
42 Engine
275 Tuscany Way N.W.
2018
43
Walden
43 Engine
969 Walden Dr SE
2020
44
Livingston
44 Engine
1248 Livingston Way N.E.
2021
45.
Belvedere
45 Engine
#2000, 250 East Hills Square S.E.
2023 (Temporary)
References
^ abFire Department., Calgary (Alta.) (1910). History of the Calgary Fire Department, 1910. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Calgary Firemen's Benefit Association, 1910. p. 29.
^ abFire Department, Calgary (Alta.). (1910). History of the Calgary Fire Department, 1910. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Calgary Firemen's Benefit Association. pp. 29–31.
^Fire Department, Calgary (Alta.) (1910). History of the Calgary Fire Department, 1910. Calgary Firemen's Benefit Association. p. 31.
^Fire Department, Calgary (Alta.) (1910). History of the Calgary Fire Department, 1910. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Calgary Firemen's Benefit Association. p. 35.
^Fire Department, Calgary (Alta.) (1910). History of the Calgary Fire Department, 1910. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Calgary Firemen's Benefit Association. p. 39.