Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The New Westminster Fire Department was founded in 1861 as the Columbia Street based Hyack Company No. 1. By 1863 it was comprised of 58 volunteer members and in 1864 opened a satellite Hall in Sapperton. Following the inquest of the Great Fire of 1898 that razed the downtown and industrial core, the Hyack Company was reorganized to a fully paid squad, modernized equipment, expanded, and was formally incorporated under the City of New Westminster as the New Westminster Fire Department. The fire department then continually modernized through the years, reducing to four fire halls from the previous six and saw on-duty hours fall from 24 hours 7 days a week to 42 hours per week. The N.W.F.D. continues to provide fire protective services for the City of New Westminster.