CAMPBELL RIVER FIRE RESCUE
Since its wartime creation in 1942 as an all-volunteer department with a single, downtown hall, Campbell River Fire Rescue has grown to a staff of nearly 75 members and volunteers through two halls, seven fire/rescue vehicles and a dispatch centre that provides services across North Vancouver Island.
The Campbell River Fire Department was organized in 1942 and consisted of a volunteer firefighting force and one fire hall (Hall No. 1) located at 10th Avenue and the Island Highway. The department went professional in 1966 with the hiring of its first full-time fire chief, and two years later, in 1968, a second fire hall (Hall No. 2) was built on Larwood Road in Willow Point. In 1975, the department expanded to full-time coverage, 24/7, at Hall No. 1. In 1978 Hall No. 1 was relocated to its current location at 13th Avenue and Dogwood Street.
Today, the department consists of two chief officers, 21 fire fighters, 50 auxiliary fire fighters, two fire halls, three pumper trucks, one 75-foot aerial truck, one water tanker, one rescue truck, one reserve pumper truck and one new.
Campbell River Fire Rescue provides another critical service to residents of the city and surrounding region. A primary purpose for the establishment of fire services in a community is to reduce the fire insurance costs for that community.
As a result of the services provided by Campbell River Fire Department, the avoided insurance costs for the citizens of Campbell River are more than $5 million annually.