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Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services

Agency overview
Established	1886
Employees	800
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Karen Fry (December 2020)
EMS level	First responder
Motto	People Who Care About You
Facilities and equipment
Stations	20
Engines	20 (15 engines / 5 squad apparatus)
Trucks	9
Platforms	1
HAZMAT	1
USAR	1
Wildland	3
Fireboats	3
Light and air	1
Website
VFRS

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) was founded in 1886 and today serves the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, providing fire, medical first response, rescue and extrication services. In 2017, VFRS responded to 67,000 emergency calls.^[1]

History

The Vancouver Volunteer Fire Brigade was established in 1886^[2] with one volunteer hose-wagon company assigned to protect the new city which mainly had lumber mills at the time, and within 16 days of its existence, the city of Vancouver burned to the ground.^[3] A week after the fire the city purchased its first fire engine from Ontario, the item arrived in August of that year, which made the volunteers confident that they could handle any situation that occurred. A second engine arrived in 1888 along with two new fire halls growing the strength from one company to three companies. J.H. Charlisle was appointed the city's first fire chief who began motorizing fire brigade, and the first motorized fire engine was purchased in 1908 from the Seagrave company of Columbus. By 1911, the department was ranked third best in the world, falling behind London and Leipzing Germany. By 1917 it was completely motorized (no more horse-drawn equipment) and was then recognized as the Vancouver Fire Department.^[3][4] In 1929 the municipalities of South Vancouver and Point Grey amalgamated with the City of Vancouver which also meant the merger of the South Vancouver Fire Department and the Point Grey Fire Brigade, which added six new halls and increased the strength of the department by 100 men.

Since 1893, 48 Vancouver firefighters have died in the line of duty.^[5]

In December 2023, VFRS began operating an electric fire engine out of Fire Hall No. 1 in Strathcona. This was the first electric fire engine to be deployed in Canada. ^[6] The fire engine was introduced to support the City's goal to reduce fleet emissions and electrify city vehicles.^[7]

Operations

Rank structure

Rank	Fire chief	Deputy fire chief	Assistant chief	Battalion chief	Training officer	Captain	Lieutenant	Firefighter	Probationary firefighter
Rank epaulettes								No insignia	No insignia
Rank pins								No insignia	No insignia
Helmet colour	White	White	White	White	Red	Red	Red	Yellow	Yellow
Description	Chief of department and general manager	Second-in-command to fire chief	Chief of operations	Command officer in charge for 1 battalion	Training officer in charge of firefighter education and departmental education	Command officer in charge of 1 fire hall and company officer for 1 engine/rescue engine	Company officer in charge of 1 ladder or secondary engine (pump)	Firefighter role is to maintain and master personal firefighting and EMS skills	Probationary firefighter role is to learn how to execute the duties of a firefighter while being mentored by senior firefighters and officers

Current fire chief and general manager: Karen Fry

Fire hall locations and apparatus

There are currently 20 fire halls located throughout the city of Vancouver, organized into three battalions. There is also a training facility, a marine unit and several pieces of reserve apparatus.

Vancouver's current complement of fire apparatus includes:

• 13x 2007 Spartan / Smeal CAFS engines
• 2x 2007 Spartan / Smeal CAFS 125' aerial ladder quints
• 2x 2007 Spartan / SVI custom-built hazmat units (1 unit later converted to command unit)
• 1x 2007 Spartan / SVI air/light equipment unit
• 14x 2016/17 Spartan / Smeal CAFS engines/rescue-engines
• 10x 2016/17 Spartan / Smeal CAFS 105' aerial ladder quints
• 1x 2016 Spartan / SVI technical heavy rescue

Fireboats

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The VFRS has operated fireboats since 1928 when the city introduced the J.H. Carlisle. It currently operates 3 boats. Fireboats 1 (FB-1) and 2 (FB-2) are Firestorm 40s, built by MetalCraft Marine in Kingston, Ontario. These boats went into service in 2016 and 2017. Fireboat 4 was part of a fleet of five aluminum boats designed by naval engineering firm Robert Allan Ltd. and built in 1992 and has been retained as a reserve vessel.

Former fireboats:

• J.H. Carlisle 1928–1971
• Fireboat No. 2 1951–1987

Crest

VFRS uses a standard logo displayed on uniforms and vehicles:

• Maltese cross
• Fire hydrant
• EMS Star of Life
• Helmet, ladder, horn, hook and axe

Response

Tap out response medical aids

Tap out response non-medical incidents

Structure fire response