Dates From: circa 1850
Original Location: Farm in Keele Street and Steeles Avenue area
This small shed might have served any storage or workshed purpose on the farm. During a time when fire halls were created and manned by volunteers it is quite appropriate that such a building might become the shelter for the village fire pumper.
The 1837 fire pumper housed within this building was used to fight fires in Toronto for almost four decades. Built of solid mahogany, it was given to the City of Toronto by the British America Assurance Company and was operated by a brigade of volunteers.
Using water poured in the top or suctioned from a nearby water supply, the pumper – with five or six men on each side, pumping 60 to 70 strokes per minute – could produce a one-inch stream that could be delivered to a height of 75 feet.
The Fire House was opened to the public in 1968.