About Fire Rescue

Mission statement

To save life, property and environment by providing fire protection, rescue, public education and medical assistance to our community.

Vision

To continue our commitment to excellence and provide a dynamic emergency service, respected and valued by our community.

Our present and very progressive fire rescue service is under the leadership of Fire Chief, Dave Paxton. It serves a population of 110,000 in an area of 322.5 square kilometres comprising of 44 kilometres of Lake Superior shoreline, several interior waterways, and provides structural firefighting and emergency medical service to 89 square kilometres of Fort William First Nation Reservation No. 52. from eight fire stations. All first-response pumpers carry semi-automatic Heartstart Defibrillators and we participate in a signed Tiered Response agreement.

Our firefighters through the Professional Firefighters Association Local 193, among many other acts of charitable gesture, sponsor and serve the Thanksgiving Meal for the Salvation Army. The "Toys for Tots" campaign donates more than $130,000 annually to the City of Thunder Bay Christmas Cheer Fund to purchase gifts for children in the city and district less fortunate than our own. Beginning mid-November, off-duty firefighters staff a "toy" fire station in the food court of Intercity Shopping Centre until the Wednesday proceeding Christmas Day.

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For more information about our divisions, or to reach a specific contact, visit our Contact Fire Rescue page.

Suppression

The Suppression Division is comprised of four platoons working out of eight fire stations - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The eight stations are divided into two Districts, with four stations in the north District and four in the south District. Each district has one District Chief and three Captains, with a minimum complement of thirteen firefighters under their command. The District Chiefs report to a Platoon Chief, who oversees each platoon.

Administration

The Administration Office is located on the second floor of Station One at 330 N Vickers Street. The working hours are from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm daily with the exception of weekends and statutory holidays. The Senior Officers including the Fire Chief, two Deputy Fire Chiefs, Division Chief of Administration & CEMC, Fire Prevention staff and the Administrative Support staff consisting of a Secretary to the Fire Chief, Accounting and Administration Clerk, Fire Prevention Clerk and a Program Support Coordinator are all located at this site.

Fire Prevention and Investigation

The Fire Prevention Division consists of a Division Chief, Captain, Public Education and Safety Officer and seven Fire Prevention Officers. Their working hours are from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm daily with the exception of weekends and statutory holidays and are on-call 24 hours a day to carry out fire investigations. This division is responsible for ongoing inspections of industrial, commercial and residential properties under the authority of the Ontario Fire Code. Thunder Bay Fire Rescue is committed to delivering fire and life safety education, juvenile fire setter intervention and programming for special interest groups, such as youth and seniors.

Apparatus and Equipment 

The Mechanical Division consists of two personnel, performing the servicing and maintenance tasks on all fire service mobile, portable and stationary equipment. Our apparatus and vehicles consist of front-line pumpers, pumper/rescues, aerial ladder, administration vehicles, plow trucks and back-up units. The stationary equipment includes stand-by generators, breathing air compressors, fill stations and portable equipment such as smaller pumps, chain saws, Jaws of Life, lawn mowers, snow blowers, outboard motors, and boats.

Training

Training is an integral part of any modern fire department. In order to meet the demanding role of being a firefighter, education is a lifelong commitment. The Training Division is dedicated to providing high-quality learning for all of its personnel.

The Training Division provides new recruits with the basic skills necessary to extinguish fires, perform rescues, provide medical assistance, protect the environment, offer public education, and ensure public safety. New recruits spend twenty four weeks under the guidance of the Training Division, prior to being assigned to a Platoon in the Suppression Division.

Once a new recruit is assigned to Suppression, the Training Division is responsible for providing the necessary resources required to become proficient not only in firefighting, but also medical responses including, but not limited to, first aid, CPR and defibrillation. Fire Rescue service instructors facilitate the learning of hazardous material response, high and low angle rope rescue, ice/water rescue, and auto extrication.

The Training Division is responsible for ensuring that all Fire Rescue officers meet the requirements for the provincial standard for a company officer and/or a senior officer and a fire prevention officer. Officers undergo written and practical exams established by the Training Division, under direction from the Fire Chief, in order to meet the provincial standard.