According to the historical record, as described by author Edith McDermott, the original Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue Service came into existence immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941. It originally operated under the Air Raid Protection system and the first Fire Chief was Hans Hoffmann. The other original members were Henry Doerksen, Henry Jensen, Douglas McDermott, Roy Lehman, Mac Wickson, Gordon Park, Ernie Lang, Oscar Austring, Slim Stewart and Frank Caws.
The former firehall was demolished in 2002 as part of continued development of the community. The old hall was located next to the Lions Den on Harris Road and served as the base of operations for many years. Though very cramped and ill-equipped for firefighting forces there are a great many memories cherished by anyone who was a part of its history in the department.
The first fire truck for Pitt Meadows was built by the members themselves. It was a 1929 Model A touring car which was torn down, rebuilt and outfitted for firefighting duties.
Today, the department is lead by Fire Chief Don Jolley and Assistant Chiefs Rob Chatton and Brad Perrie. The Fire Department also has a full-time Administrative Assistant, Sandie Mallan.
The Department has two full-time maintenance and public education members, Fire Safety Technicians, Scott Kyle and Mike Larsson. It has four captains and 32 paid on-call volunteers.
Brad Dinwoodie's mural pays tribute to both the past, present and future of the fire hall. It will be unveiled Saturday, June 1 at 2 p.m. as part of the Pitt Meadows Day celebrations.