About Us

The Hamilton Fire Department is responsible for the delivery of fire protection services to all citizens of Hamilton.  To facilitate the delivery of those fire protection services throughout the city (1200 square kilometres - urban & rural) the service uses a composite staffing model.

Administration

Administration staff comprised of the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, Four (4) Assistant Deputy Chiefs, Two (2) Area Commanders and two support staff are responsible for the overall operation of Hamilton Emergency Services.  This Division is also responsible for:

• the compilation, storage, retrieval and circulation of all fire and employee related information necessary to the function of the entire department.

• managing, developing, monitoring and maintaining all aspects of the capital and current budget processes and information as it relates to providing technical, statistical and staff support to the Department and outside agencies

• co-ordinate and manage maintenance, repairs, and upgrades of facilities and personal protective equipment as well as relevant equipment or supplies necessary to provide efficient day-to-day operations of all Divisions

Communications

The Communication's Division is often the first point of contact for the Fire Department with the public when an emergency occurs.  The men and women that staff this section are highly trained and play a critical roles in mitigating an emergency by ensuring the appropriate information is collected from the caller. 

Based on the information  collected, the Communication Staff utilize a Computer Aided Dispatch System to select the appropriate type of response for the emergency at hand.  Once units have been dispatched, the Communications Staff act as a resource to crews in the field by obtain any additional internal or external resources that may be required by responding crews.

In addition to handling the needs of responding calls, Communications Staff must balance off coverage throughout the City and handle the additional 911 calls which come in during a major emergency.

Fire Suppression

The constantly expanding roles and responsibilities of firefighters within this Division include:

• emergency firefighting operations
• high and low level rope rescue
• shore based water and ice rescue
• search and rescue of persons trapped or injured
• emergency medical services
• protection from hazardous materials incidents
• vehicle accident auto extrication and response to industrial accidents
• commercial inspections
• "Alarmed and Ready" smoke alarm installations
• VIP home inspections
• vacant building monitoring
• tactical survey's 

Fire Prevention

Mechanical 

This versatile Division, under the direction of the Chief Mechanical Officer provides mechanical service 16 hours a day as well as emergency coverage on weekends and holidays. This division is responsible for the repair and maintenance of all emergency firefighting and EMS apparatus and related equipment.  Other services provided include:

• research and preparation of apparatus replacement specifications to ensure that legislative requirements are followed
• annual testing of aerial and ground ladders, pump operations, vehicle safety inspections and helmet inspections/repairs
• preventative vehicle maintenance programs
• specialized repair and maintenance of firefighting clothing, self contained breathing apparatus and station air compressors
• fire hose repair and replacement specifications
• repair and replacement of clothing and equipment
• repair and maintenance of defibrillators, smoke ejector fans, auto extrication equipment, ground lights and emergency generators
• distribution of emergency medical equipment as well as cleaning and operating supplies

Training
 
This Division is responsible for the continuous upgrading, competency and proficiency of all personnel as well as developing training procedures for compliance with legislated standards. Other responsibilities include:

• probationary firefighter training
• elegibility tests for classification promotions
• emergency medical service training
• fireground emergency operations training
• Officer training programs
• defensive driving and licence classification examinations
• hazardous materials training, vehicle extrication courses, ship and harbour familiarization
• rope rescue training
• shore based water and ice rescue