Historic fire hall on Birchmount Road to celebrate 100th anniversary of Scarborough Fire Department’s founding

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

At the turn of the 20th century, Toronto was transitioning into the urban city it is today.

As population increased and industrialization was taking shape at the city’s core, boroughs and townships on the outskirts that were once considered farmland were also transforming to meet the needs of city expansion.

In the Scarborough region (formerly known as the Township of Scarborough), rising population was met with a need for improved infrastructure, including modernized housing, water mains, arterial roads, and access to essential services.

Among the many required services, the Township of Scarborough looked to provide residents with access to emergency services to support its growing community.

By June 1, 1925, Reeve (Robert) McCowan and Scarborough’s Township Council facilitated the construction of its first fire hall, located at 351 Birchmount Rd., south of Danforth Road.

Construction of the fire hall was completed on Nov. 2, 1925, and was commemorated with the establishment of The Scarborough Fire Department, which was founded on the same day.

One hundred years later, on Sunday, Nov. 2, members of the community are invited to celebrate the fire hall’s century-long anniversary.

The celebration will include refreshments and speeches from prominent figures, including Toronto Fire Services Chief Jim Jessop, a tour of the Birchmount Fire Hall Museum, and the donation of the building’s ceremonial trowel to the Scarborough Firefighting Museum, in care of the Toronto Fire Historical Society.

The free celebration will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Those attending are reminded that there is no parking available on site, so it’s recommended that visitors park on the surrounding residential roads or opt for public transportation.

Also in attendance on Nov. 2 will be Robert McCowan’s great- grandson, D. Bruce McCowan, who currently has the 100-year-old ceremonial trowel used in 1925 in his possession.

McCowan told Beach Metro Community News that the trowel’s re-dedication and donation to the Toronto Fire Historical
Society marks a symbolic milestone in “making socioeconomic improvements” within a community.

“The trowel symbolizes the building of a civil society, and the cornerstone is to a building, as the truth is to a civil society,” said McCowan.

He said the infrastructure challenges his great grandfather faced as a member of township council 100 years ago are similar to those faced by City of Toronto staff to this day.

“He had to navigate a lot of issues — simple things like putting in sidewalks. Every week there’d be somebody complaining,” said McCowan.

“And then of course big things like water mains and police services and fire protections, so that had to come together too, which meant money — lots of money.”

The Nov. 2 ceremonial event will also appear in the 2025 issue of the York Pioneer and Historical Society Journal, which is one of Canada’s longest-running local history journals.

According to McCowan’s recollection of an article from The Globe and Mail (formerly The Globe), the Scarborough fire hall’s celebration back in 1925 had 500 guests in attendance — a number he would like to see increase at the upcoming celebration.

“There were 500 people at that laying of the cornerstone in 1925. I don’t know how they did it back then, but it’d be really nice to get 501 out on Nov. 2,” said McCowan.