Back in My Day

At the time this article was created, there were ten Operations members who had over 40 years of service with the Toronto Fire Services (and their pre-amalgamation department). We recognize and celebrate their long service. We asked some of them to recall how it was “back in the day”. Here is what they said:

Mowing the Lawn at the Fire Station

“Thursday’s duties included mowing the lawn. One time, on nightshift, it didn’t get done and the Fire Chief came down hard on the guys. The issue went all the way to arbitration and the Fire Chief was sure it would be an easy victory. The Association fi lled the hallway with other city workers (police, teachers, etc.) that took the stand to report that they did not cut the lawn at their workplaces. After that, it was no longer mandatory to do such maintenance jobs.” Captain Gus Maple, Modifi ed Overhaul with Next to No PPE Back in the day, after the fi re got knocked down, the crews used to take off their petch coats, roll down their boots and go back inside to do overhaul. I was extremely lucky to have a progressive Captain, named Charlie Dixon. He let me go back in, but only if I had my SCBA on. Of course, I would get ribbed by the senior guys, who had smokes hanging from their lips, with comments like “hey kid, you afraid of a little smoke?” Thanks Chief Charlie Dixon.District Chief Chris Vasconcellos, C41C Surfing on the Side of the Aerial “If the tail board was full of fi refi ghters, guys would fi nd a spot on the side of the Aerial and ride it like they were surfi ng. Also, there were buzzers on the back of the truck and the old guys would tell you – if you’re going to fall off the tail board, PUSH THE BUTTON FIRST!!” District Chief Ralph Straub, C22A

Dispatch Via the Telephone When I started, dispatching was by telephone with the bells ringing loudly throughout the hall. They had two options: a short ring for non-emergency information and a long ring (probably close to ten seconds), for fi re calls. When that happened, everyone in the hall had to “hit the fl oor” to respond. In the middle of the night, if the fl oor watch person went to the bathroom and missed a short ring, they would put through a long ring. This would result in a bunch of really angry faces looking at you at three in the morning! District Chief Jim Danks, C31D

Smoking at the Kitchen Table

“The guys used to talk about how dangerous the diesel particulates were in the air, but they didn’t mind the fact that everyone smoked non-stop around the kitchen table!” A/PC Jim McCracken, C44C

Riding the Tail Board

“Riding the tail board was my favorite thing. You had to hang on to the strap and could look over the hose bed. There was something romantic about it!” Captain Jack Cooper, P314A

Washing the Walls of the Diesel Emissions “If a concern was brought forward to management, such as getting extractors for the diesel emissions instead of washing the walls, they would automatically dismiss it as the fi refi ghters trying to get out of work or that they were just a bunch of complainers.” District Chief Ernie Thorne, C34A Working on an Open Cab Truck in the Winter “We responded to a fi re down on King Street while it was snowing, and the fi rst thing we had to do when we got there was cover the open cab of our LaFrance Aerial with a tarp to keep the snow out!” District Chief Nick Laffey, C31C Playing Dibs (Dominos) at the Firehall My fi rst experience with “dibs” or dominos was at Keele Street (Station 423). There was a little sitting room where the chief, the captains and the senior men would play. I was a rookie and rookies were not invited. One night, I slipped into the room and pulled up a chair to watch. They stopped and stared at me. No one said a word. So I got the hint and got up and left! I eventually got to sit in at Lansdowne (Station 426) if they needed someone to fi ll in. It took years to eventually become a full member of the “dibs” games!” Captain Murray Manson, P331D

Smokey & Captain Lino Maniezzo (retired)