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The Story of Jasper Park Volunteer Fire Brigade:The story of Jasper Park Volunteer Fire Brigade is an important part of Jasper's history as a community. Fires in town were a community event. Everyone helped out, whether it was by extinguishing the fire or helping those who suffered a loss to rebuild.
Jasper is located in an area that is prone to forest fires (caused by humans but more often caused by nature) and in the early days government employees volunteered their time and lives to help protect the small settlement. It is from these early beginnings that an important and valuable presence, in Jasper, emerged.
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Park Wardens testing fire extinguishing equipment.1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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In June 1909, the Dominion Government decided that the newly developing mountain parks were in need of gaming regulations and designated fire protection. This was due to the increase in the number of settlements within the park and also because of the railway; often sparks from locomotives were responsible for starting forest and brush fires. In order to protect their investments, the Dominion Government wanted to establish and organized a Warden Service that would be able to regulate tourism, gaming, and fire protection.4
Park Wardens and volunteers testing fire extinguishing equipment.1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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By 1911, the National Parks Branch had been established and Harold E. Sibbald, (Superintendent of Banff National Park and outlying areas) appointed various wardens to regulate gaming and fire protection in Fitzhugh (Jasper), Banff, and other mountain park areas. In 1913, Alex McDougall became Chief Warden for the Jasper area.The government's newly formed Dominion Parks and Railway Commission Fire Branch placed responsibility for the Dominion Volunteer Fire Brigade and for the fire extinguishing equipment (supplied by the government) under the warden's authority.
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Macklin, John (Park Warden).1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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The Park Wardens were responsible for the supression of forest fires within the mountain parks and they were responsible for testing the government's fire extinguishing equipment.The next three photographs feature Park Warden, John Macklin giving hand signals and testing pumps.
The pumps in the photographs are probably Evinrude portable pumps. They were fueled by gasoline and were convenient because they were easily transported to where ever they were needed. The Evinrude pump replaced the earlier Fairbanks pumps. The Fairbanks pumps were also portable but less reliable and quite cumbersome.
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Macklin, John (Park Warden).1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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Macklin, John (Park Warden).1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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Government volunteers and Wardens testing equipment for the supression of forest fires.1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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Testing fire extinguishing equipment near the government's garage.1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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The government garage was used to store fire extinguishing equipment prior to the construction of Jasper's first fire station in 1914.The water wagon, on the right side of the garage, belonged to the government. It was one of the earliest pieces of fire extinguishing equipment used by the Dominion Park Fire Brigade. Records suggest that it was not easily transported and if it was empty it took awhile to fill with water. In the event of a fire, it was sometimes an effort to move it through the rugged terrain.
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Testing fire extinguishing equipment near the government's garage.1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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Volunteers and Wardens testing fire extinguishing equipment.1922
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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