HISTORY OF THE FIRE BRIGADE
The Fire Brigade started after sometime in the 1950’s where it was of such that the Public Works Department was responsible for a group of men in the Water Division drawn by a carriage with a pump to respond to fire related incidents. Hence the reason they were referred to as Water Works. Then somewhere about 1957 the Brigade became a disciplinary body where it was governed by the Act of 1957 that allowed the Governor General to appoint senior police officers to be in charge of the Fire Brigade. The headquarters for this organization was stationed between High and Long Street which was referred to as Telephone Exchange. It was up until 1960 that the St. John’s Fire Station was constructed and the then operation moved from High and Long Street to Factory Road which now houses the Fire Brigade Headquarters.
The Administration of the Fire Brigade has seen a number of changes within the last 60 years. For instance, the Officer in charge of the Department could have only risen to the rank of Assistant Superintendent. That has changed and has now gone to the rank of an Assistant Commissioner with Mr. Malcolm A. Nicholas being the first Assistant Commissioner to head the Fire Department, the next line in rank was one Superintendent of Police.
With the expansion of the establishment in 1990’s, the department now has two superintendents who support the Assistant Commissioner, one responsible for administration and the other responsible for operations, five assistant superintendents and six inspectors. These make up the senior administration of the Fire Department.
