Borough of York fire
fighters, now more comfortable with the amalgamation of the last
decade, welcomed the 1970's with a new chief and deputy. However, Chief
William Simpson's deputy, Robert Billing, was only in his position a
few days when he died unexpectedly. Arthur "Mike" Beardshall later
assumed the Deputy's position, until his promotion to Chief in 1976.York's population was still generally increasing, but the makeup of the community was changing as people filled the voids left by residents who moved further out into the suburbs. York continued its trend of becoming one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Canada. Many cultures co-existed in this era, but one of the most dominent communities in York was the Italian community. Census records and fire response reports show that a great number of Italian-Canadians called York home, and that many of them were becoming established in business and the politics of the borough.
In response to this, the Borough of York Council supported initiatives to try to get more Italian-speaking people on the fire department. A plan to offer free Italian language lessons for those already employed did not work well for the fire department, so in the mid 1970's, Council decided to give preference to people who were bilingual. Not wishing to show prejudice, the borough accepted a number of new recruits who spoke English, and at least one other language (not necessarily Italian).
Hiring
was steady to replace retiring members, but there was no increase of
staffing compliment as there had been in every decade since the 1930's.
By the end of the 1970's, every original fire fighter on staff during
the 1937 York Township Fire Department consolidation had retired,
leaving the job to future generations.
With residency requirements finally dropped, many members joined the trend of new home buyers, and moved even further out into the suburbs and the country. They settled in places like Milton, Newmarket, Mississauga and Barrie. However, this migration did not have a major effect on the participation of York fire fighters in off-duty events. Union meetings were well attended, and members still participated in Labour Day and Remembrance Day parades. The First Retiree's Dinner-Dance was held in March of 1975, and several members participated in the York Firefighters Trumpet Band. Many union motions dealt with sports funding, and York was a full participant in the new Southern Ontario Fire Fighters Hockey League.
Working conditions generally improved during the 70's, with several increases in health and employee benefits and a salary rate increase of almost 250% between 1970 and 1980. However, these were times of very high inflation with prices rising much faster than salaries. Government's response to this was to establish the Anti-Inflation Board, and implement "wage and price controls." These controls did nothing to freeze prices, but they did limit salaries and tie the hands of the negotiating committee of Local 411.
At the provincial
government level, a Royal Commission was set up to investigate
Metropolitan Toronto. The "Robarts Commission," as it came to be called
after its chair, former Ontario Premier John P. Robarts, sparked more
amalgamation fears. All of the Metro fire fighters' unions, including
Local 411, made deputations to the commission opposing amalgamation of
the fire service. Robarts' final report advocated increasing the
industrial tax base of the Borough of York by expanding it's boundaries
further north to Highway 401. The recommendations were never
implemented.
Meanwhile, residential development in York significantly increased with the construction and approval of several high-density housing projects in all areas of the borough. Most of these were high-rise apartments, but some townhouses were constructed. Many of the buildings were built by Metro Housing, and presented special challenges to fire fighters because of their size, and because of the special needs of seniors and low-income families who lived there.
Annual
call volume slowly rose from a low of 2209 calls in 1970 to a high of
2865 at the end of the decade. But the average number of fires and
medical responses were roughly the same throughout the whole period.
One of York's most dangerous fires occured in May of 1973 at the Ashland Oil Company
plant near Dufferin and Castlefield. York's small department proved
that it could handle most of it's domestic emergencies on its own, but
did accept help from our brothers in the surrounding areas when
necessary. The favour was returned a couple of times. When three fire
fighters perished in the Kimberly Clark fire in Etobicoke, York fire
fighters staffed the stations so Etobicoke members could attend the
funerals. When the infamous Mississauga train derailment occurred in
November 1979, Pumper #4 was dispatched to the site after a request
from Mississauga Fire for help from neighbouring departments.
More emphasis was put on training and education of fire fighters in the 1970's. New equipment and vehicles were purchased to help York fire fighters do their job better. Gasoline powered trucks with standard transmissions were being replaced by Diesel automatics. Rescue 10 (sometimes called Van #10) was put into service, although it was often staffed with only a driver. But most importantly, fire fighters were learning more about the hazards of their profession, and how to protect themselves against them.
The "smoke eater" was becoming extinct, being replaced by the well-trained, professional fire fighter.