Calgary Fire Department

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

Calgary Fire Department

Agency overview
Established	1885 (Calgary Hook, Ladder and Bucket Corps)
Annual calls	~60,000
Employees	1500 (all staff)
Fire chief	Steve Dongworth
Facilities and equipment
Stations	40
Website
Calgary Fire Department

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. Prior to 1909, it was a volunteer fire department. In 1909, 40 full-time firefighters were hired.[1] In 1910, it purchased its first motorized fire truck.[2]

As of June 2019, the department has 40 stations and employs over 1,500 personnel in both operational and support roles. Their headquarters is located at 4144 11th Street SE.

Organization

Fire Suppression Staff

Chief Officer

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. 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:
  • Fire Rescue Services (Deputy Chief)
  • Fire Rescue Services Support (Deputy Chief)
  • Risk Management (Deputy Chief)
  • Administration and Infrastructure (Deputy Chief)
  • Strategic Services (Manager)
• Assistant Deputy Chief – There are 6-7 Assistant Deputy Chiefs. Numerous are tasked to Fire Rescue Services and the remainder 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 five districts (East, West, North, South, & Central). Each platoon within a district is supervised by a District Chief, therefore there are 5 District Chiefs at any given time (one in each district) and 20 in total

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 work force 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 also relies on numerous Support 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
• Wellness & Fitness Coordinator
• Health and Safety Coordinator
• Community Safety Coordinator
• Training Coordinator
• Medical Services Coordinator

Many Support Sections also have Staff Support Officers. These include:

• Hazardous Materials Officers
• Emergency Management Officers
• Recruitment Officers
• Wellness & Fitness Officers
• Health and Safety Officers
• Community Safety Officers
• Fire Inspector II
• Fire Inspector I
• Technical Services Officers
• Public Information Officers
• Shift Investigator
• Training Officers
• Fire Investigator

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	Probationary Firefighter
Rank Epaulettes								No Insignia	No Insignia	Blue Striped Epaulettes

Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic

If a Firefighter, Company Officer, or Chief Officer is also qualified as an 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
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 Fire Inspector I and II	BLUE
Fire Cadet	BLACK

Fire Stations and Apparatus

• There are 40 fire stations in Calgary, operating 24 hours a day.[3]
• 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.

No.	Neighbourhood	Engine(s)	Aerial	Rescue	Miscellaneous	Address	Build Year
1	Downtown	1 Engine, 48 Engine	1 Aerial			450 1 Street S.E.	1973
2	Beltline	2 Engine, 49 Engine			2 High Rise Support, 2 Parkade Unit	1010 10 Avenue S.W.	1971
4	Vista Heights	4 Engine			4 Haz-Mat, 4 Air/Light, East District Chief	1991 18 Avenue N.E.	2004
5	South Calgary	5 Engine 60 Engine			Mobile Command Unit, Investigator 1	3129 14 Street S.W.	2012
6	Eau Claire	6 Engine	6 Aerial	6 Aquatic Rescue	6 Boat Tow, 6 Jet Boat	360 8 Street S.W.	2010
7	Mount Pleasant	7 Engine		7 Fire Rescue Paramedic		2708 4 St NW	2017
8	Rosscarrock	8 Engine	8 Aerial	8 Rescue	8 Bush Buggy	1720 45 Street S.W.	1980
9	Ogden	9 Engine 61 Engine				2515 78 Avenue S.E.	1981
10	Briar Hill	10 Engine		10 Technical Rescue	10 Technical Support	1909 16 Avenue N.W.	1998
11	Windsor Park	11 Engine		11 Technical Rescue	11 Technical Support	5506 4 Street S.W.	2014
12	Marlborough	12 Engine 46 Engine		12 Rescue		123 44 Street S.E.	1974
14	Haysboro	14 Engine 47 Engine				9840 Horton Road S.W.	1989
15	Bowness	15 Engine				6328 35 Avenue N.W.	1964
16	Highfield	16 Engine			Central District Chief, Battalion Chief, Safety Chief, Haztech 1&3, Hazmat Support, Air Monitoring Vehicle, Pod Truck 1&2, Flood pod, Hazmat pod (x2), CFD Community Outreach Car, CFD Shuttle Transport, Mobile Fan, 16 Rat-Rail, 16 Panel, Misc. Vehicle	4124 11 Street S.E.	2018
17	Varsity	17 Engine	17 Aerial		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 Aerial		19 Haz-Mat, 19 Bush Buggy	13807 Parkland Boulevard S.E.	1975
20	Lincoln Park	20 Engine		20 Fire Rescue Paramedic (FRP1 ATV inside)	West District Chief	2800 Peacekeepers Way S.W.	1978
21	Silver Springs	21 Engine		21 Rescue		209 Silvergrove Drive N.W.	1978
22	Temple	22 Engine 50 Engine				7199 Temple Drive N.E	1979
23	Southview	23 Engine	23 Aerial (Mini Bronto)		23 Bush Buggy	2727 26 Avenue S.E.	1982
24	Cedarbrae	24 Engine				2607 106 Avenue S.W.	1978
25	Foothills	25 Engine	25 Aerial		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 Aerial		30 Boat Tow, 30 Jet Boat	6 McKenzie Towne Gate S.E.	1998
31	Country Hills	31 Engine	31 Aerial (Mini Bronto)		31 Bush Buggy, 31 Generator	11955 Country Village Link N.E.	2005
32	Saddle Ridge	32 Engine	32 Aerial			800 Saddletowne Circle N.E.	2010
33	Signal Hill	33 Engine				3800 69 Street S.W.	2008
34	Royal Vista	34 Engine	34 Aerial			16 Royal Vista Way N.W.	2016
35	Valley Ridge	35 Engine			35 Tender, 35 Hazmat Recovery, 35 Boat Tow, 30 Jet Boat	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	South District Chief, Investigator 2, K-9 unit	4199 114 Ave S.E.	2012
40	Symons Valley	40 Engine			North District Chief, K-9 unit	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				5 Walden Common SE	not currently operational

References

1. Shiels, Bob (1974). Calgary : a not too solemn look at Calgary's first 100 years. Calgary: The Calgary Herald. p. 127. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
2. Wark, S. Arnold (1919). City of Calgary year book. Calgary. p. 27. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
3. Department, Calgary Fire (2015-04-28). "Calgary Fire Stations listing". www.calgary.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-10.

External links

• Calgary Fire Department