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.

Ottawa Fire Services

Operational area
Country	Canada
Address	1445 Carling Avenue Ottawa, ON K1Z 7L9
Agency overview
Established	2001 (2001)
Annual calls	106,667 (2023)[1]
Employees	1,500 (2023)[1]
Staffing	Career, Paid volunteer
Commissioner	Kim Ayotte
Fire chief	Paul Hutt
EMS level	CFR
IAFF	162
Motto	Protecting the Nation's Capital with Honour
Facilities and equipment
Divisions	9
Battalions	9
Stations	45
Engines	50
Trucks	17
Rescues	6
Ambulances	See Ottawa Paramedic Service
Tenders	18
HAZMAT	2
Rescue boats	6
Website
Official website

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

Ottawa Fire Services Pumper/Tanker 53

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.

See also

• Ontario portal

• Ottawa Paramedic Service
• Ottawa Police Service
• Ottawa By-law Services

References

1. https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=188777. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

• Ottawa Fire Services

Bibliography

• Graham, John W. (1922), History of the Ottawa Fire Department. Vol. III., Ottawa, Ontario: Transactions of the Women’s Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa, III.