Fire & Rescue Service History
 According
to the historical record, as described by author Edith
McDermott, the original Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue Service came into existence
immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941. It
originally operated under the Air Raid Protection system and the
first Fire Chief was Hans Hoffmann. The other original members
were Henry Doerksen, Henry Jensen, Douglas McDermott, Roy Lehman,
Mac Wickson, Gordon Park, Ernie Lang, Oscar Austring, Slim Stewart
and Frank Caws.
The former firehall was demolished in 2002 as part of continued
development of the community. The old hall was located next to the
Lions Den on Harris Road and served as the base of operations for
many years. Though very cramped and ill-equipped for firefighting
forces there are a great many memories cherished by anyone who was
a part of its history in the department.
 The
first fire truck for Pitt Meadows was built by the members
themselves. It was a 1929 Model A touring car which was torn down,
rebuilt and outfitted for firefighting duties. This truck still
exists today and is pictured here in its most common role now,
that of the Clown Wagon for the Pitt Meadows Day Parade. The
department has undergone many changes over the years including
the move to a career Chief, then an additional two career
Assistant Chief's and now the change to paid on-call (POC)
volunteer firefighters supplemented by two unionized Fire Safety
Technician staff. The number of members has increased over
the years, as has the number of responses the department makes
in response to calls for assistance by the citizens and visitors
of Pitt Meadows. Since its creation in
1941, the Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue Service has been a fiercely proud
group who are committed to providing a “professional” fire service
to the citizens of the City of Pitt Meadows via dedicated and
well-trained members. The department is, and always has
been, committed to education and prevention as a means of
promoting community safety and maintaining the excellent value
for dollar ratio that it has. This tradition of excellence has
gained the department many accolades over the years as a leading
edge organization committed to the provision of full-service
fire protection through the use of a few career staff in support
of the primarily volunteer-based POC firefighting force.
The City of Pitt Meadows is justifiably proud of the work
performed by these unselfish men and women for over 70 years.
Maybe you could become part of this proud tradition in the
future!
|
