From horse-drawn engines to high-tech trucks: Toronto Fire celebrates 150 years

August 28, 2024 Canuck

Toronto Fire Services is celebrating a milestone this year: the 150th anniversary of when it was approved to be a full-time fire service in the city.

Back in 1874, Toronto city council established the first full-time career fire service. At the time, there were a total of 36 staff members. One hundred and fifty years later — things are much different.

“We’ve grown by more than 90 times as big,” said Fire Chief Matthew Pegg.

As the city grew, the needs of Toronto Fire Services also increased from five horse-drawn fire engines to 124 modern and specialized fire trucks. Today there are more than 3000 staff with the service.

Pegg says one of the things he’s most proud of is that Toronto is the largest city in North America with an accredited fire service.

“To me, it’s really that third-party validation of the extraordinary levels of service that are provided in this city 24 hours every day,” Pegg said.

The fire chief is also reflecting on his own milestone this year as he plans to retire after more than 32 years of service.

He’s held the role of fire chief for eight of those years. He also played a major role in Toronto’s response to the pandemic, serving as the city’s COVID-19 incident commander for 25 months, from March 2020 until April 2022.

He officially steps down from the role on October 4th.

“Somebody is going to have the opportunity to come in and inject all of their passion and energy, but do that from a position where you’re you’re starting from a really good place,” Pegg said.

The Toronto Fire Service’s 150th anniversary celebration will coincide with its Fire Prevention Week Open House on October 5 at the TFS Training Academy.

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