The roots of firefighting in Jasper National Park date back almost 100 Years!

The earliest available records indicate that the Dominion of Canada decided to name Lewis Swift the Fire Game Warden for Jasper, back in 1910. In 1912 he was joined by a second warden, Alex McDougall, with at least one other temporary warden. The historical record dries up until 1914, when Dougald Maclachlan constructed a Firehall at the north east corner of Elm and Giekie st. (the current site of the Jasper Elementary School). This one story log structure became the centre for structural and forest fire suppression in Jasper. The original hall housed a caretaker, and stored a Brandon Chemical Wagon and two roan horses, as well as various tools and gear. It was the caretaker's job to maintain the equipment and the horses, besides his regular job at the government garage. At this time the Fire Department was composed mainly of Dominion Government employees, and was aided by  local citizens whenever the need arose. The crowning moment of the early years was the arrival of a 1921 REO-Bickle motor driven pump truck. On board the truck was 2600 ft. of 2 1/2" hose and two nozzles, and it had the capability to pump 195 gallons per minute at 58 PSI. It also had the interesting ability of replacing it's wheels with special wheel flanges for traveling on the railroad tracks. Firefighters were summoned by a small bell mounted on the hall, and by a steam whistle blown simultaneously at the railway roundhouse. As many new residents arrived in Jasper, the concern about proper a water supply grew, and in 1924 running water and a hydrant system appeared. By 1934, with a population of about 1300, Jasper was being server by a gravity system originating from Cabin Lake. It had two small dams on Cabin Creek and was supplying about 50,000 gallons of water per day to the townsite.