The Historical Society of Ottawa’s Museum Club began its 2025 season on Friday May 2nd, 2025. On that afternoon, fifteen members and guests received a private guided tour of the Bytown Fire Brigade Historical Society facility at 2880 Sheffield Road, by their President, Peter McBride. Peter kept us all enthralled and entertained for 1 ¾ hours.
The Bytown Fire Brigade Historical Society was formed in the early 1980s, being incorporated as a non-profit in 1983. Its mission is to collect, preserve, conserve, restore, and display the artifacts and apparatus that tell the history of firefighting in Canada’s capital and the country as a whole. It opened its museum in the old fire station # 3 at Cumberland and Clarence in 1987. When the city sold that building, the museum moved to station # 6 at MacKay and Vaughn in 1988 before purchasing its current 2-storey home in 1990. The museum is open on Fridays between 09:00 and 13:00 but special arrangements can be made if you call or email.
The ground floor of their facility serves as a garage and maintenance area for the ten or so vehicles currently housed there. Many of these are over 100 years old and all have been restored to working condition. Included in these is “The Dominion”, Bytown’s first fire engine which was pulled through the streets by 16 firemen and then hand pumped, the 16 man team being replaced at regular intervals. It can still produce a stream of water 3 storeys high. Another piece on display is the 1886 Silsby horse-drawn steam pumper that was rushed out to the Village of Russell and saved the village from destruction. They also have four additional vehicles in storage at fire stations across the city. The Bytown Fire Brigage Historical Society is very active in the community and frequently brings out one of its vintage engines, as an attraction, in support of community events and projects.
The second floor, only accessible by stairs, has a mix of protective equipment from over the years, photos, badges, call boxes and many other artifacts that help to tell the 180 years of fire fighting in Bytown and Ottawa. On prominent display is a digitally restored replica of an 1840s banner from the Chaudière fire company, one of Bytown's earliest private firefighting companies. Peter showed us a fire mark, a plaque, which would be attached to the exterior of a building to indicate that it was covered by insurance, and so, if on fire, the fire should be fought or actions taken to salvage as much of its contents as possible.
The Bytown Fire Brigade has many more artifacts than it can display in its current location, but is always on the hunt for more and the stories behind them. They are also looking for more volunteers to help with their collection. You don’t need to be a firefighter or a former firefighter, you just need to want to help tell this long and fascinating story.
Museum Club visit to the Bytown Fire Brigade Historical Society photo by Ben Weiss
