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Forest fire protection has been an issue ever since 1885 when Ontario saw its first Fire Rangers ever. At this time there were only 37 rangers, and they were sent out from May to October to watch assigned districts in Ontario. They were paid approximately $500 at the end of each season. That was not a whole lot of money in those days, but it was enough to make a living. The Fire Rangers' duties were:
Following all of the fires in the previous couple years, in 1896 the number of firefighters grew from 37 to 160. For some reason, however, the number of fires also increased. Again in 1915 the total number of firefighters grew, this time to 900, and for quite a while the number of fires were kept at a minimum. In 1922, however, the Haileybury fire destroyed 18 townships, 6000 homes, and killed 40 people. At the time this was the worst fire the province had ever seen. It has never been determined how the Haileybury fire started. Some suspected arson while others said that it was probably just an accident commited by a failure to follow the rules of the fire act. In 1943 fire control workers were trained to work and protect the forest all year round instead of for just one season. This lead to a pay increase and also a record low of fires in Ontario. After a budget cut in 1954, prison labour was introduced to forest protection. This project proved successful, as the prisoners were used to cover a 50 mile territory. They were guarded, and were even paid small wages. Over the past hundred years, the Fire Rangers have done everything possible to prevent and extinguish fires in the forest. It was not realized all this time that without the occasional forest fire, the trees will rot and no new trees will be able to grow in the crowded area. Return to Top |