Toronto In The Rear View Mirror Toronto Fire Stations Part 1

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Thank you for joining me for Toronto in the rearview mirror, Toronto fire stations part [music] one.

[00:00:08]Q Beach fire hall number 17 was built in 1905 in the Queen Anne Revival style.

[00:00:14]When they first laid the foundation, they found there was an unknown underground stream that was washing away the concrete. They had to build a dam to divert it and cut around down to the bedrock. It could support a station twice the size.

[00:00:28]Station opened in August 14th, 1906. The tower received its clocks in 1912.

[00:00:35]The second bay was added in 1960.

[00:00:38]The horses were retired from the station September 14th, 1920.

[00:00:45]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The cupola on top of this tower was removed in the late 1940s. [music] Towers were originally built to hang hoses to let them drip dry as they were made of canvas and could rot.

[00:02:37]>> [music] [music] >> Fire truck in this photo is likely an American LaFrance fire engine, possibly from station 17. Was there to make sure fire didn't break out from the downed electrical wires.

[00:03:02]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> This Babcock aerial ladder turntable truck sitting at the corner of Victoria and Lombard. This was a new purchase at the time and they found shortly after that they needed three horses to pull them.

[00:04:01]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Central fire hall began construction in 1886. It's official opening in 1887. It got renamed to station number five in 1909.

[00:04:25]Closed operations in 1970. Crew and equipment merged with the fire station number four on Berkeley Street.

[00:04:39]>> [music] >> Station number five was also the last to use horses.

[00:04:48]This is Prince and Mickey on their last day before they were retired in 1931.

[00:04:54]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Station number 11 was built in 1884 and closed its doors in 1967 and demolished soon after for subway construction.

[00:05:45]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Firehall number three was built in 1871.

[00:06:07]It moved into the new station on Grosvenor in 1929. [music] This firehouse burned down in 1939.

[00:06:15]1874 was also the year that Toronto changed from volunteer firefighters to paid.

[00:06:21]The glass front there that is there now is the original architectural drawing and not what was built.

[00:06:33]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Toronto Fire Department number 12 opened its doors in 1932.

[00:07:08]It's the only fire station done in an Art Deco style.

[00:07:12]It's now Toronto Fire Services Station 324.

[00:07:18]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Police Station number four and Fire Hall number seven opened on February 21st, [music] 1876.

[00:08:05]1954, fire services moved across the street to the new station.

[00:08:11]The original was station was demolished to make way for Regent Park.

[00:08:15]Demolition was completed 1956.

[00:08:19]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Host Company number six, later Fire Hall number six, started in 1847.

[00:09:10]February 12th, 1876, it was reconstructed and added in number three [music] police station. Also had a new drying tower and clock tower added. 1936, it was closed and decommissioned.

[00:09:23]>> [music] >> 1954, it was demolished.

[00:09:30]>> [music] [music] >> Alexander Jacques was the foreman of the rescue number two engine volunteer the fire department. He was a printer by day for the Globe.

[00:09:54]Built in 1841, fire station number one at Bay and Temperance was sold in 1924 and demolished.

[00:10:02]>> [music] >> Fire trucks would have left this station number 11 for the last time in 1967.

[00:10:15]>> [music] >> Hello everybody. Thank you for joining me for Toronto in the review of mayor Toronto fire stations part one.

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[00:10:59]>> [music]