HISTORY (Chronological Order)

St. John’s has a very interesting historical relationship with fire, the city having been physically altered more than a couple of times over the years by massive blazes that devastated neighbourhoods and businesses alike, spreading quickly from row house to row house. The Great Fire of 1892 ravaged the city – and in 1895 the St. John’s Fire Department was established. Its primary function was to simply protect the lives and property of the citizens of the city.

More than a century later, the St. John’s Regional Fire Department is a fully-equipped modern-day fire department, providing to the public a broad range of specialized and emergency services. Led by the office of the Director of Regional Fire Services (Fire Chief), the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) is responsible for providing the Region with an exceptional and professional level of fire and emergency suppression and protection. Our mandate is to carry out emergency tasks as swiftly as possible to first and foremost preserve life.

We are also very proactive in the education of our communities – especially our children – in fire safety and prevention practice. The SJRFD coordinates and cooperates with government departments and other groups and agencies for the effective delivery of emergency services, and we provide backup emergency services to a number of surrounding towns in the Northeast Avalon Region.

The SJRFD provides services such as:

• Fire Suppression
• Fire Prevention
• Vehicle Response
• Medical Response
• Hazardous Materials Response
• Special Teams Response (High Angle, Confined Space, Water Rescue and Helicopter Rescue)
• 911 Communication Services
• Emergency Medical Backup to Eastern Health upon request

The SJRFD provides full fire and emergency service to St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Paradise and Petty Harbour/Maddox Cove, and we hold service contracts for 6 outlying jurisdictions including:

• Torbay
• Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove
• Conception Bay South (CBS)
• Witless Bay
• Portual Cove-St. Philip's

• Pouch Cove