# Ottawa Fire Services

The Ottawa Fire Services (OFS; French: Service des incendies d’Ottawa) provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance to the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

## Organization

Like most North American fire departments, the Ottawa Fire Services is organized in a paramilitary fashion. The current Chief of the department is Paul Hutt. Serving under Hutt are three Deputy Chiefs, four Platoon Chiefs, five Division Chiefs, four Rural Sector Chiefs and twenty District Chiefs. At the station level, each urban station has a Captain for each of the four platoons. Each truck in the fleet is under the command of either a Captain or Lieutenant. For rural paid-on-call stations, each station has a station Captain and four Lieutenants.

## History

The current Ottawa Fire Services came into existence in 2001 with the amalgamation of nine fire departments from Ottawa and the surrounding areas. The nine former departments include the Ottawa Fire Department, Gloucester Fire Department, Cumberland Fire Department, Kanata Fire Department, Nepean Fire Department, Osgoode Fire Department, Rideau Fire Department, Goulbourn Fire Department and West Carleton Fire Department.

## Operations

There are 45 fire stations located across Ottawa, including 16 Paid On-Call stations and 5 composite stations. The stations are assigned to 9 district operations units. On Friday September 3, 2010, Chief deHooge announced that a three-year trial testing the use of 24-hour shift rotations would begin in January 2011. In Canada twelve of the fifteen largest fire departments are using the 24-hour shift rotation.

## Equipment

Currently, City of Ottawa firefighters are issued tan Starfield Lion bunker gear, black leather Haix structural fire boots, and traditional black Cairns 1044 structural firefighting helmets for firefighters, red 1044s for Lieutenants and Captains and white 1044s for Chief Officers. In 2015, the department phased out their SCBAs (previously the ISI Viking), and replaced them with the MSA Firehawk M7XT with Rescue Belt II system and Ultra Elite facepiece.

## Fire Stations and apparatus

| Station # | District # | Neighbourhood | Pumper Company | Tower Company or Ladder Company | Pumper Tanker or Tanker unit | Car (Chief) unit | Miscellaneous units | Address | Build year |
| 11 | 1 | Little Italy / Chinatown | Pumper 11A Pumper 11B | Tower 11 | | Car 10 (District Chief) | Water Rescue 11 | 135 Preston Street | 1985 |
| 12 | 1 | The Glebe | Pumper 12 | | | | Rescue 12 Rope Rescue 12 | 635 O'Connor Street | 1974 |
| 13 | 1 | Sandy Hill / University of Ottawa | Pumper 13A Pumper 13B | Ladder 13 | | | | 530 King Edward Avenue | 1985 |
| 21 | 2 | College Ward | Pumper 21 | | | | Haz-Mat 21 Haz-Mat Support 21 Decon 21 | 1300 Woodroffe Avenue | 1986 |
| 22 | 2 | Lincoln Heights | Pumper 22 | Tower 22 | | | Water Rescue 22 | 1397 Richmond Road | 1989 |
| 23 (Headquarters) | 2 | Westboro | Pumper 23 | Tower 23 | | Car 1 (Fire Chief) Car 2 (Deputy Chief) Car 3 (Deputy Chief) Car 4 (Deputy Chief) Car 5 (Deputy Chief) Car 6 (Platoon Chief) Car 7 (Reserve Chief) Car 8 (Division Chief) Car 9 (Reserve Chief) Car 20 (District Chief) | Safety Officer 23 Service Truck 23 Public Information Officer | 1443 Carling Avenue | 1985 |
| 24 | 2 | Carleton Heights | Pumper 24 | Ladder 24 | | | Haz-Mat 24 IHAT 24 | 230 Viewmount Drive, Nepean | 1988 |
| 25 | 2 | Crestview | Pumper 25 | | | | Foam Tender 25 | 60 Knoxdale Road, Nepean | |
| 31 | 3 | Greenboro | Pumper 31 | | | Car 30 (District Chief) | | 3255 Conroy Road | 1988 |
| 32 | 3 | Leitrim | | | Pumper Tanker 32 | | | 3202 Leitrim Road, Gloucester | 1996 |
| 33 | 3 | Huntclub | Pumper 33 | Tower 33 | | | | 3336 McCarthy Road | 1983 |
| 34 | 3 | Riverside Park | Pumper 34 | | | | | 700 Brookfield Road | 1987 |
| 35 (Communications) | 3 | Alta Vista | Pumper 35 | Tower 35 | | | | 2355 Alta Vista Drive | 1991 |
| 36 | 3 | Pineview | Pumper 36 | | | | | 1935 Cyrville Road | 2017 |
| 37 | 3 | Riverside South | Pumper 37 | Tower 37 | | | Water Rescue 37 | 910 Earl Armstrong Road | 2004 |
| 41 | 4 | Glen Cairn | Pumper 41 | | Pumper Tanker 41 | Car 40 (District Chief) | Squad 41 Air Tender 41 | 380 Eagleson Road, Kanata | 1981 |
| 42 | 4 | Beaverbrook | Pumper 42 | Ladder 42 | | | | 1021 Teron Road, Kanata | 1970 |
| 43 | 4 | Bell's Corners | | | Pumper Tanker 43 | | Rescue 43 Rope Rescue 43 | 3845 Old Richmond Road | 1990 |
| 44 | 4 | Barrhaven | Pumper 44 | | | | | 1075 Greenbank Road | 1979 |
| 45 | 4 | March | | | Tanker 45 | | Squad 45 Support Unit 45 | 640 Cameron Harvey Drive, Kanata | 1980 |
| 46 | 4 | Kanata West | Pumper 46 | | Pumper Tanker 46 | | Command 46 Service Vehicle 46 | 34 Iber Road | 2011 |
| 47 | 4 | Barrhaven South | Pumper 47 | Ladder 47 | | | Tech Rescue 47 Tech Rescue Support 47 | 3559 Greenbank Road | 2011 |
| 51 | 5 | Quarries | Pumper 51 | Tower 51 | | Car 50 (District Chief) | | 900 Montreal Road | |
| 52 | 5 | Convent Glen | Pumper 52 | | | | | 6213 Jeanne D'Arc Boulevard, Orleans | 1978 |
| 53 | 5 | Fallingbrook | Pumper 53 | Ladder 53 | Pumper Tanker 53 | | Rescue 53 Squad 53 Water Rescue 53 | 500 Charlemagne Boulevard, Orleans | 1991 |
| 54 (Air and Rehab) | 5 | Blackburn Hamlet | Pumper 54 | Ladder 54 | | | Rehab 54 Air Tender 54 | 3080 Innes Road | 1991 |
| 55 | 5 | Summerside | Pumper 55 | | | | | 2283 Portobello Boulevard, Orleans | 2017 |
| 56 | 5 | Overbrook | Pumper 56 | | | | | 275 Coventry Road | 1986 |
| 57 | 5 | Vanier | Pumper 57 | Ladder 57 | | | | 220 Beechwood Avenue | 1987 |
| 61 | 6 | Kinburn | Pumper 61 | | Tanker 61 | | | 3150 Kinburn Side Road | 1983 |
| 62 | 6 | Fitzroy Harbour | Pumper 62 | | Tanker 62 | | Water Rescue 62 Service Vehicle 62 | 6900 Harbour Street | 1976 |
| 63 | 6 | Constance Bay | | | Pumper Tanker 63 Tanker 63 | | Brush Truck 63 UTV 63 Snowmobile 63 | 341 Bayview Drive, Woodlawn | 1988 |
| 64 | 6 | Carp | Pumper 64 | | Tanker 64 | Car 60 (District Chief) | Rescue 64 | 475 Donald B. Munro Drive | |
| 66 | 6 | Dunrobin | | Ladder 66 | Pumper Tanker 66 | | | 3285 Dunrobin Road | 1987 |
| 71 | 7 | Navan | Pumper 71 | | Tanker 71 | | Brush Truck 71 UTV 71 | 1246 Colonial Road | |
| 72 | 7 | Cumberland Village | Pumper 72 | | Tanker 72 | | Squad 72 | 2245 Old Montreal Road | 1997 |
| 73 | 7 | Vars | | | Pumper Tanker 73 Tanker 73 | Car 70 (District Chief) | Service Vehicle 73 | 6090 Rockdale Road | 2007 |
| 81 | 8 | Stittsville | Pumper 81A Pumper 81B | Tower 81 | Tanker 81 | Car 80 (District Chief) | | 1641 Stittsville Main Street | |
| 82 | 8 | Richmond | Pumper 82 | | Tanker 82 | | Rescue 82 | 6280 Perth Street | 1994 |
| 83 | 8 | North Gower | Pumper 83 | | Tanker 83 | | Brush Truck 83 UTV 83 | 2352 Roger Stevens Drive | |
| 84 | 8 | Corkery | | | Pumper Tanker 84 | | Brush Truck 84 Squad 84 UTV 84 | 3449 Old Almonte Road | 1986 |
| 91 | 9 | Metcalfe | | Tower 91 | Pumper Tanker 91 | | Squad 91 | 8011 Victoria Street | |
| 92 | 9 | Osgoode | Pumper 92 | | Tanker 92 | | Water Rescue 92 | 3110 Nixon Drive | |
| 93 | 9 | Greely | | | Pumper Tanker 93 | | Rescue 93 Brush Truck 93 UTV 93 | 6891 Parkway Road | |
| 94 | 9 | Manotick | Pumper 94 | | Tanker 94 | Car 90 (District Chief) | Squad 94 | 5669 Manotick Main Street | 1993 |

## Apparatus glossary

* Pumper (P)
* Ladder (L)
* Tower (T)
* Rescue (R)
* Tanker (TA)
* Pumper/Tanker (PT)
* Hazardous materials unit (HM)
* Technical Rescue unit (TR)
* Squad (S)
* Service Vehicle (SV)
* Support Unit (SU)
* Brush Truck (BT)
* Water Rescue (WR)
* Air Management (AM)
* Rehab Vehicle (RHB)
* Brush Tanker (BTA)
* Pod Vehicle (PV)
* Safety Officer (SFTY)
* Officers Car (C)
* Fire Investigator (INV)
* Foam Truck (FT)
* Command Vehicle (CMD)
* Initial Hazard Assessment Team (IHAT)
* All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)
* Snowmobile (SM)

## Support offices

| Office | Address | Division |
| Ottawa Fire Services Headquarters | 1445 Carling Avenue | Head Office |
| Ottawa Fire Services Headquarters | 1445 Carling Avenue | Fire Department Administration |
| Ottawa Fire Services Headquarters | 1443 Carling Avenue | Equipment Maintenance Division |
| Ottawa Fire Services Headquarters | 1443 Carling Avenue | Safety Officer's Division |
| Ben Franklin Place | 101 Centerpointe Drive | Bureau of Investigations and Prevention |
| Charles Sim Municipal Garage | 2799 Swansea Crescent | Fleet Maintenance Division |
| Ottawa Fire Services Training Centre | 898 Industrial Avenue | Training Division |
| Ottawa Fire Services Communications Centre | 1423 Randall Ave | Communications and Dispatch Division |
| Ottawa Fire Services Air Management Centre | 3080 Innes Road | Air Management and Rehabilitation Division |

## Notable Incidents

The history of the Ottawa Fire Services includes several notable incidents, including the 1900 Hull–Ottawa fire.