Photograph of the front exterior of Burnaby Fire Hall No. 6, located at 3620 Brighton Avenue, at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Government Street. The photograph is taken from across Brighton Avenue, facing east. One of the fire hall's garage doors is open and a person and car are inside. The Fu…
Photograph of the front exterior of Burnaby Fire Hall No. 6, located at 3620 Brighton Avenue, at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Government Street. The photograph is taken from across Brighton Avenue, facing east. One of the fire hall's garage doors is open and a person and car are inside. The Furniture Fair warehouse is visible behind the fire hall.
Photograph of the Burnaby Fire Department's 1925 four cylinder Dodge combination hose and chemical fire engine, the first of its kind to be used in North Burnaby. Commercial buildings are visible behind the truck and a sign on the window display reads, "Better and Better."
Photograph of the Burnaby Fire Department's 1925 four cylinder Dodge combination hose and chemical fire engine, the first of its kind to be used in North Burnaby. Commercial buildings are visible behind the truck and a sign on the window display reads, "Better and Better."
File consists of Annual Reports from the Burnaby Health Department, the Burnaby Fire Department, and the Burnaby Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
File consists of Annual Reports from the Burnaby Health Department, the Burnaby Fire Department, and the Burnaby Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Photograph of Burnaby Fire Department fire truck no. 6 (1971 Ford C 904 Triple Combination Pumper built by Thibault). This photograph is believed to have been taken by the truck's manufacturer, Superior Emergency Equipment Ltd. (based in Richmond, British Columbia).
Photograph of Burnaby Fire Department fire truck no. 6 (1971 Ford C 904 Triple Combination Pumper built by Thibault). This photograph is believed to have been taken by the truck's manufacturer, Superior Emergency Equipment Ltd. (based in Richmond, British Columbia).
Photograph of Burnaby Fire Department fire truck no. 9 (1971 Ford C 904 Triple Combination Pumper built by Thibault). A sign on the ground below the running board of the truck reads, "Pierre Thibault (1972) OFF LTD." This photograph is believed to have been taken by the truck's manufacturer, Superi…
Photograph of Burnaby Fire Department fire truck no. 9 (1971 Ford C 904 Triple Combination Pumper built by Thibault). A sign on the ground below the running board of the truck reads, "Pierre Thibault (1972) OFF LTD." This photograph is believed to have been taken by the truck's manufacturer, Superior Emergency Equipment Ltd. (based in Richmond, British Columbia).
Photograph of an unidentified fireman walking towards the open door of Burnaby Fire Department's Rescue 1 truck (1976 Ford C 600 Rescue unit). Seven other unidentified men are visible standing in the background.
Photograph of an unidentified fireman walking towards the open door of Burnaby Fire Department's Rescue 1 truck (1976 Ford C 600 Rescue unit). Seven other unidentified men are visible standing in the background.
Photograph of four unidentified firemen gathered beside Burnaby Fire Department's Rescue 1 truck (1976 Ford C 600 Rescue unit). The truck's side compartments are visible, housing fire extinguishers and other equipment. The truck appears to be parked at fire hall no. 1 at Sperling and Canada Way.
Photograph of four unidentified firemen gathered beside Burnaby Fire Department's Rescue 1 truck (1976 Ford C 600 Rescue unit). The truck's side compartments are visible, housing fire extinguishers and other equipment. The truck appears to be parked at fire hall no. 1 at Sperling and Canada Way.
Photograph of Burnaby Mayor Robert Prittie (standing in center) and two participants at the benefit hockey game between the Burnaby Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Burnaby Fire Department.
Photograph of Burnaby Mayor Robert Prittie (standing in center) and two participants at the benefit hockey game between the Burnaby Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Burnaby Fire Department.
Photograph of an unidentified man in costume standing with the Fire Department Band who are performing outside of the "Cap Bicycle and Buggy Shop" during the opening weekend of Heritage Village Museum (November 19-21, 1971).
Photograph of an unidentified man in costume standing with the Fire Department Band who are performing outside of the "Cap Bicycle and Buggy Shop" during the opening weekend of Heritage Village Museum (November 19-21, 1971).
Photograph of three firemen in the mist of extinguishing a fire at Maywood Elementary School. The fire gutted four classrooms as well as the school library before it was brought under control.
Photograph of three firemen in the mist of extinguishing a fire at Maywood Elementary School. The fire gutted four classrooms as well as the school library before it was brought under control.
Newspaper clipping attached to verso of photograph reads: "SCHOOL BURNS... Burnaby firefighters douse the charred timbers of a classroom at Maywood Elementary School, 4567 Imperial, Burnaby, after an early morning fire gutted four classrooms and the school library. Cause of the two-alarm blaze is under investigation, but the fire is believed to have started in one of the classrooms. The fire was brought under control about an hour after being reported at 5:12 a.m."
Photograph of the Fire Department Band performing outside of the "Cap Bicycle and Buggy Shop" during the opening weekend of Heritage Village Museum (November 19-21, 1971).
Photograph of the Fire Department Band performing outside of the "Cap Bicycle and Buggy Shop" during the opening weekend of Heritage Village Museum (November 19-21, 1971).
1 m of textual records, graphic material, and cartographic material
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of news clippings; notes correspondence; and layout and research materials used in the development and creation of the Burnaby Fire Department history entitled “Follow that Fire.” Also consists of administrative records created by the Fire Department related to its management, direct…
1 m of textual records, graphic material, and cartographic material
Description Level
Fonds
Access Restriction
Subject to FOIPPA
Reproduction Restriction
Reproductions subject to FOIPPA
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of news clippings; notes correspondence; and layout and research materials used in the development and creation of the Burnaby Fire Department history entitled “Follow that Fire.” Also consists of administrative records created by the Fire Department related to its management, direction, coordination, training services, and planning, including daily record books, emergency preparedness pamphlets, a departmental practice manual, procedural directives, scrapbooks, and an orthophoto map (in 63 pieces) of the City of Burnaby.
History
Serving the City since 1911, the Burnaby Fire Department is committed to providing timely, professional, and effective fire-related emergency services to save lives, property and the environment. Their dedicated staff serves the City via seven fire stations located strategically across Burnaby. Each of our stations is equipped with up-to-date vehicles and equipment.
Their highly skilled and trained team of men and women provide many services, including fire suppression and prevention, investigation, inspection, training, medical, vehicle extrication, technical and other speciality rescues, hazardous materials response and public education services.
The following information pertains to the publication "Follow That Fire":
Communities have always lived with the threat of fire. Early Burnaby residents banded together to extinguish out-of-control brush fires. In the 1920s, the Municipal Police were responsible for fire-related matters, earning three dollars for attending a fire. Donations to the Vancouver and New Westminster Fire Departments' Benevolent Funds brought the first fire engines to Burnaby's rescue. As the population increased, by-laws were enacted to develop a full-time fire service.
Several members saw the value in jotting down recollections of their experiences as Burnaby firemen, which sparked an interest in completing the History of the Burnaby Fire Department. While researching this project, the author was fortunate in being able to draw from the resources of retired chiefs Fred Blake and Lewis Auvache, who were original members of the Department.
The Department's progression includes heated and sometimes humorous debates regarding who should be responsible for fire protection, deciding if there was a need for a fire services, and how taxes would be levied to support the service.
Photographs throughout the text represent stages of development which include a pictorial record of Burnaby fire trucks from 1923 to the present platform ladder trucks.
From its humble beginning as two separate fire departments operating from a converted police horse stable and a water pumping station, the Burnaby Fire Department has developed into a professional organization serving its citizens from six fire stations.
Subseries consists of committee records for the Fire Hall Committee.
History
The Fire Hall Committee was established on June 23, 1969.
Formally named the Fire Hall (Central Headquarters) Committee, this committee advised on the construction of the Central Headquarters Fire Hall for the Burnaby Fire Department.
This committee disbanded in 1971.
Photograph of four unidentified Burnaby firemen in Burnaby Fire Department jackets, standing in front of the cab of what looks to be Burnaby Fire Department's Rescue 1 truck (1976 Ford C 600 Rescue unit). One fireman appears to be holding a rope that is also attached to the truck, while another fir…
Photograph of four unidentified Burnaby firemen in Burnaby Fire Department jackets, standing in front of the cab of what looks to be Burnaby Fire Department's Rescue 1 truck (1976 Ford C 600 Rescue unit). One fireman appears to be holding a rope that is also attached to the truck, while another fireman holds a loop of rope.
Subseries consists of an essay written by Fred Blake entitled "Growing Up in North Burnaby," a hand-drawn map of Gilmore School, an RCAF pamphlet, an Emergency Rescue Training Pocket Manual and a Handbook for Auxiliary Firemen.
Subseries consists of an essay written by Fred Blake entitled "Growing Up in North Burnaby," a hand-drawn map of Gilmore School, an RCAF pamphlet, an Emergency Rescue Training Pocket Manual and a Handbook for Auxiliary Firemen.
History
Thomas Blake and his wife Gertrude came to Burnaby in 1921 with their three children: Thomas "Tom", Susie and Frederick "Fred" (b. 1912). They lived at 4456 Pandora street, owning that lot and the adjoining 66 foot lot on the west. The Municipality cleared a trail, later putting down a one-plank sidewalk and bringing in a half-inch water line for the family. The Blake family lived in two wall tents for a few years while they cleared their land and built their house.
In 1921 at the age of nine, Fred Blake attended Gilmore School where he learned about different woods and how to use hand tools. In 1927, he attended North Burnaby High School in a commercial course were he learned typing, shorthand, book-keeping a commercial law. Throughout his teenage years, Fred worked at Armour Photo Finishing, developing rolls of film and collecting and delivering the films and finished prints.
Thomas Blake worked part-time for the Burnaby Advertiser and part-time for the Vancouver Sun to pay his way through university and become a Burnaby school teacher.
In 1927, at the age of sixteen, Fred began his firefighting career as a volunteer, with the first major fire of his career taking place December 31, 1927 at the 4600 block of Albert Street. He continued as a volunteer until 1934 when he went to the logging camps as a steam fireman in the Queen Charlotte Islands and on the coast.
In the early 1930s, Fred was a member of the Army of the Common Good, and with the falling crew cut second growth timber on Capitol Hill for firewood to be shared with other members. The Army also produced over 125 tons of vegetables from its own gardens to feed children and youth who were near starvation from lack of adequate relief funds from the municipality. The Army was in operations for ten years and during that time the members organised the Credit Union movement of British Columbia and drew up the Credit Union act thorough the Vancouver Co-operative Council. They also started Co-Op stores and the Co-Op Wholesale Society. During this time, while on Relief (now welfare) Fred also worked for the municipality on the two projects of the clearing of Confederation Park and the clearing of Lougheed Highway.
Fred re-joined the Burnaby fire department on April 1, 1939, as a paid member at No. 1 Hall. He came up through the ranks to become Training Officer for the department in 1949 and full time training officer with the rank of District Chief in 1952. Fred was promoted to Assistant Chief in 1966. He retired from service March 1, 1972.