home > city
departments > fire department
Operated by the City, the Fort St.
John Fire department provides 18,000 residents with fire suppression,
rescue services, first responder medical calls, building inspections
and prevention and education programs.
The Department’s 19 full-time employees and 13 volunteer
firefighters provide these services to a 27 square mile area around
Fort St. John and five miles north, south and east of the City.
History
When two young children tragically lost their lives in a fire,
residents decided to set up Fort St. John’s first fire
fighting brigade.
In 1942, volunteers equipped a second hand truck with buckets,
spades, axes and other rudimentary fire fighting gear. They stationed
the truck at Bert Bowes and Bradin Herron’s garage and filling
station on the main 'east-west' road through the village. The volunteers
dug a large hole on the northwest corner of the main crossroad
and installed a water cistern, which the town waterman kept full.
The brigade erected a post with a bell and rope on the same corner,
with a small building to store the hose. When the fire-bell rang,
virtually all local businesses had a designated person to answer
the call.
The Fort St. John Fire Department was manned entirely by volunteers
until 1964, when the City hired its first paid Fire Chief, Carl
Lutz. In 1971 the City hired its first paid Fire Fighters, embarking
on the composite department that operates to this day. It is
currently made up of three day officers, 16 career suppression
members, 12
volunteers (paid on call) and one career clerical staff.
Fire Department - Burn Fund
Established in 1978 by the BC Professional Fire Fighters Association,
the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund is dedicated to burn prevention, survivor support and recovery
programs in the province of British Columbia. It is committed
to providing financial assistance for the purchase of equipment,
training of medical staff and the operation of a children's
burn survivor camp.
The Fort St. John Fire Fighters support both the local and
provincial Burn Funds through a variety of community events
like car washes, pancake breakfasts and Bar-B-Q's. Locally,
some of this money is spent on new equipment for our hospital
and programs that teach kids to be responsible for their own
safety.
The Burn Survivors Summer Camp has hosted close to four hundred
children from all areas of British Columbia.
Your generosity to the Fort St. John Professional Fire Fighters
Burn Fund is crucial to the continued delivery of programs,
services, equipment and support to burn survivors.
We thank you for your numerous contributions.
For more information about the British Columbia Professional
Fire Fighters Burn Fund please go to www.burnfund.org
The Fire Department’s office hours are:
Monday to Friday: 0830 hrs - 1630 hrs
To contact us:
Fire Chief Fred Burrows
Phone: (250) 785-4333
Fax: (250) 785-0080
E-mail: fburrows@fortstjohn.ca
Fort St. John Fire Department
9407 - 100 Avenue
Fort St. John, BC, V1J 6W1
Links:
Fire Safety House
Apparatus
Auxiliary Firefighters Needed
Provincial Emergency Website
Safe Canada
Public Safety and Emergency Prepardness Canada
|
