===Surface Water Rescue===
===Surface Water Rescue===
The SFD employs 49 [[surface water rescue]]
The SFD employs 49 [[surface water rescue]]
experts to resolve emergency situations the South Saskatchewan River. Such emergencies include preventing drownings, overturned watercraft and ice rescue. Along with the SFD’s three watercraft, the Surface Water Rescue Team utilize underwater [[sonar]] that is “sensitive enough to locate items as small as a pair
experts to resolve emergency situations the South Saskatchewan River , and . Along with the SFD’s three watercraft, the Surface Water Rescue Team utilize underwater [[sonar]] that is “sensitive enough to locate items as small as a pair
of sunglasses”.<ref name=”SFD2024″ />
of sunglasses”.<ref name=”SFD2024″ />
===Rescue Divers===
===Rescue Divers===
Specialists in the [[surface water rescue| Surface Rescue Program]] have the option to volunteer in the [[public safety diving| rescue diver program]]. These members choose to take on additional hours of training as public safety divers. These divers are trained to respond to any situation that requires the use of [[SCUBA]] equipment. As of 2024, the SFD dive team was made up of 15 members.<ref name=”SFD2024″ />
Specialists in the [[surface water rescue| Surface Rescue Program]] have the option to volunteer in the [[public safety diving| rescue diver program]]. These members choose to take on additional hours of training as public safety divers. These divers are trained to respond to any situation that requires the use of [[SCUBA]] equipment. As of 2024, the SFD dive team was made up of 15 members.<ref name=”SFD2024″ />
Fire Department of Saskatoon, SK, Canada
 |
This may take 2 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 2,497 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. |
The Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) provides fire services for the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The department has its origins in the 1880s making use of outdated equipment and volunteers. In 1918, the SFD became a professional, and unionized fire fighting force. In the same year, the SFD purchased its first piece of motorized equipment. [1]
As of October 2024, the department has 9 stations. The department employs over 360 staff members. Their headquarters is located at Fire Hall No 1., 125 Idylwyld Drive.
History
The SFD was first formed as an ad hoc volunteer department in the 1880s, relying on horse drawn equiment, water reservoirs and buckets. [1]
In the years leading up to 1911, Saskatoon, experienced an explosive period of growth, swelling its population from less than 300 inhabitants ten years prior to over 20,000, earning it a reputation as one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities. Initially, the city paid little attention to fire prevention, relying on ancient fire apparatuses, such as a gasoline fire engine drawn by a yoke of oxen, up until 1903. However, the people soon recognized that this rapid development required a modernization of its fire-fighting capabilities. [2]
The job of carrying out the SFD’s modernisation fell to Thomas E. Heath, a dedicated fire-fighter who arrived from the Hamilton Fire Department around late 1909, to assume charge of the SFD. [2] Shortly after establishing himself in the city, Heath came to reside in the Landa Residence in the Riversdale neighbourhood. The residence has been listed as a municipal heritage property since 2005. [3]
Heath, who had served in Hamilton since 1888, successfully impressed upon city officials the need for investment, noting that the city’s building permits were currently amounting to almost $1,000,000, creating a significant need for the department to keep pace in order to ensure the safety of new development. A radical improvement had been made, notably the acquisition of a new motorized combined chemical and hose wagon, built by the W. E. Seagrave Company. Chief Heath proudly stated that this motorized wagon consistently reached fires far earlier than the horse-drawn apparatus in on all the occasions it was deployed and the department was so satisfied that a second motorized wagon was quickly ordered. [2]
The SFD quickly scaled up its services to match the city’s rapid expansion. Upon Chief Heath’s arrival, the force consisted of 13 permanent men; by 1911, the force numbered 25 full-paid men, operating out of three fire stations. The original equipment—which included a 500-gallon Waterous fire engine and a Seagrave service truck—had been augmented by a Gamewell fire alarm system with 25 outdoor call boxes located around the city, in addition to the motorized and horse-drawn combination wagons. [2]
Furthermore, the city was planning to spend $50,000 to build and equip two more fire stations. The city’s growing skyline, which now included tall structures following the practice of much larger municipalities, necessitated the recent order of an 85-foot Seagrave aerial fire truck. Saskatoon’s waterworks system, utilizing direct pumping and a standpipe, provided a first-class service with a capacity of about 6,000,000 gallons per day and a standing pressure of 70 psi that could be increased, if necessary, to 125 psi for the purposes of fire suppression. Additionally, the SFD was equipped with Eastman Siemens deluge which could be deployed if additional support was required. Despite the prevalence of wood frame construction and the rise in automobiles and garages, which means more gasoline was in use in the city, the department’s efficiency was high: in the previous year, they answered 100 alarms with an combined loss of less than $80,000.[2]
By the 1930s, the SFD, like most cities, had largely replaced their draught animals with motorized engines. Departments began to sell off or give their horses and oxen, where they found new jobs delivering milk or mail or pulling bread carts. Some of the horses had become highly accustomed to their service in the SFD, and there are some anecdotes of retired fire horses springing into action at the sound of a fire bell, taking off down the street without their driver, and their carts bouncing behind them. [4]
In 1959, the SFD abandoned its station at former Fire Hall No. 3 in the Nutana neighbourhood on 11th Street East for a new, larger station of the same number on York Avenue and Taylor Street. The old station had been built to meet the increased need for fire protection following the construction of the University of Saskatchewan on the east side of the river. [5] When the SFD left the building, it became home to the Saskatoon office of the Department of Civil Defense in 1959. The former station’s basement was converted into a radiation-proof communications bunker, and the building was finished with supplies should war have broken out. [5]
On 31 May 31, 1980 a major fire broke out in the five storey Beaux-Arts style Queen’s Hotel, likely in the sauna. Forty-six firefighters arrived to battle the blaze; two of them, Victor Budz and Dennis Guenter, were killed in action. In responce to the tragedy, the SFD upgraded its breathing equipment and increased its inspections of saunas. [6]
Structure
The SFD uses the term Executive Officer to describe the members who are responsible for heading the department. Executive officers are responsible for commanding supportive divisions as well as fire operations and other services.
- Fire Chief – One Chief oversees the entire SFD.
- Deputy Chief – Heads the Operations & Emergency Communications division, which is directly responsible for fire fighting.[7]
- Assistant Chief – Head other divisions of the SFD including: [7]
- Emergency Management Organization
- Staff Development & Safety
- Community Relationships
- Community Risk Reduction
- Logistics
- Battalion Chief – Firefighters work on a four battalion (shift) system (1, 2, 3, & 4), with approximately 70 staff on a battalion at a time. [7] Each battalion is overseen by a Battalion Chief.
Company officers
The officers responsible for a fire crew are called company officers. Company officers include:
- Fire Captain – Supervise fire engines and their crews.
- Fire Lieutenant – Supervise all other fire apparatuses, including aerial ladder trucks, rescue trucks, and HazMat units.
Firefighters
Firefighters are the majority of the SFD’s workforce. They respond to emergencies as they unfold and work to provide medical attention, fire suppression and technical support as needed.
Special Programs
EMS
The SFD employs teams of paramedics and medical
first responders. In addition to their medical training, members of the EMS are also trained in additional special programs so that the SFD is always able to deliver medical attention to patients, regardless of how challenging the situation is. [7]
Hazardous Materials
All members of the SFD receive rudimentary training in handling and disposing of hazardous materials.
Certain SFD members are certified as HazMat specialists, which provides them with more advanced hazardous materials training, allowing the SFD to maintain a dedicated HazMat Response Team made up of 43 specialists.[7]
Surface Water Rescue
The SFD employs 49 surface water rescue
experts to resolve emergency situations the South Saskatchewan River, and other nearby ponds, lakes and rivers. Along with the SFD’s three watercraft, the Surface Water Rescue Team utilize underwater sonar that is “sensitive enough to locate items as small as a pair
of sunglasses”.[7]
Rescue Divers
Specialists in the Surface Rescue Program have the option to volunteer in the rescue diver program. These members choose to take on additional hours of training as public safety divers. These divers are trained to respond to any situation that requires the use of SCUBA equipment. As of 2024, the SFD dive team was made up of 15 members.[7]
Technical Rescue
In order to respond to emergencies that require unique technical expertise, the SFD Technical Rescue Team is made up of 39 specialists, each of whom has training in one of five main subjects; Low and High Angle Rope Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, Trench Rescue, Urban Search
& Rescue, and Advanced Vehicle Extrication.
[7]
Equipment
The SFD maintains 12 front-line fire engines intended for primary response and assisting EMS units. The department also uses two aerial ladder trucks which are used to provide firefights with the ability to reach tall structure fires and to deliver water at a higher altitude than they are able to on the ground.[1]
When emergencies require specialized equipment, the SFD uses its heavy rescue unit, which carries equipment and supplies needed to conduct technical or complex rescues.[1]
When fighting a fire, the SFD does not always have access to a fire hydrant. As such, the department maintains two tankers which are used to carry water to areas that lack fire hydrants. [1]
The SFD has two rigid-hull boats and one inflatable boat which enable the Surface Water Rescue and Dive Teams to reach patents and emergencies on the water. [1]
In addition to their engines, the SFD maintains two dedicated brush units for combating difficult-to-reach brush fires. [1] The SFD has a joint partnership with the Police Service and other city departments to share use of a mobile command unit, named Command 9. [8]
Below is a table of the equipment housed at all nine fire halls.[9]
| Fire Hall No. | Neighbourhood | Engine(s) | Ladder(s) | Rescue(s) | Miscellaneous | Address | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riversdale |
|
Ladder 1: 2022 Pierce Velocity 7000 Platform | Water Rescue 1: 2002 Ford F-250 |
|
125 Idylwyld Drive South | 1964 |
| 2 | Kensington |
|
|
3111 Diefenbaker Drive | 1987 | ||
| 3 | Adelaide/Churchill |
Engine 3: 2019 Spartan / Fort Garry |
Rescue 3: 2010 Spartan / Rosenbauer |
|
2613 Clarence Avenue South | 2018 | |
| 4 | Mayfair |
Engine 4: 2016 Spartan / Fort Garry |
Rescue 4: 2009 HME / Ferrara | 2106 Faithfull Avenue | 1961 | ||
| 5 | Preston Crossing |
Engine 5: 2007 Spartan / Rosenbauer |
|
1705 Preston Avenue North | 2023 | ||
| 6 | Lakeview |
Engine 6: 2016 Spartan / Fort Garry |
3309 Taylor Street East | 1978 | |||
| 7 | North Industrial |
Engine 7: 2001 E-One / Superior |
|
3550 Wanuskewin Road | 1987 | ||
| 8 | Lakewood |
Engine 14 (parade unit): 1947 Mack LS |
Ladder 8: 2010 Pierce Velocity Platform | Rescue Engine 8: 2009 Spartan / Rosenbauer | 207 Slimmon Road | 2010 | |
| 9 | Evergreen |
Rescue Engine 9: 2008 Spartan / Rosenbauer |
|
870 Attridge Drive | 2002 |
