My great-great grandfather John McEwan was mentioned in his obituary as one of the last survivors of the old hand reel fire brigade in Toronto. Since he worked full time as a jeweller, he must have been part of a volunteer group, called upon when needed. He probably would have been part of this during the period of 1860 and 1910. After that I imagine he would have been too old to be an effective member, certainly considering the last 7 years of his life he suffered from Parkinson disease. I was curious to find out just what the hand reel fire brigade was, so I did a little investigation. During that research I also realised that he probably took part in the two great fires to hit Toronto. The first in 1895 and the next in 1904. The Toronto Fire Brigade Post 1855Due to the resignation of its members the entire organization was restructured consisting of six engine companies, one hook and ladder company and one hose company.
John McEwan lived near Berkeley Street so I imagine he would have been one of the members of Captain John Kidd’s team. According to what I read the first members of this group were John and Charles Small as well as Samuel Parker. The fire hall was at the corner of Berkeley and Duke Streets. John McEwan lived on Duke Street at that time and would have probably known these men. The first engine called the Deluge was called a piano pattern and was purchased from one of the older companies. The Amoskeag which followed was what would be considered hand reel machine was housed at Duke and Berkeley after the construction of the hall in 1859. This hall on the west side of Berkeley was just south of Duke Street. It was in the spring of 1861 that a by-law was passed allowing for a brigade of volunteer firemen and perhaps this was when John McEwan joined. He would have been twenty years of age at that time. The Great Fires of Toronto1890The Valentine’s Day Fire at the landmark University College. Both the south and east wings and 30,000 books in the University library. It would soon rebuild and today still remains a landmark of the city. I895The first fire occurred March 3 1895 at the just three months after the opening of Simpson’s new store. This new store had been constructed to accommodate the surging population in Toronto. In just twenty years the 56,000 in Toronto had increased four-fold. Simpson’s itself had gone from just a small number of employees to 200. This fire was the third major fire in Toronto since the beginning of the year. Simpson’s Department store rented other premises but within ten months had rebuilt on the original site and re-opened to its customers. 1904The area of Toronto affected by "The Great Fire" of 1904 By far the greatest fire to hit Toronto was that of 1904. It began at 58 Wellington Street near Bay and spread quickly. Every firefighter in the city was called in to stop the inferno. While they succeeded in stopping the blaze at Melinda to the north, it spread southward, and to the east and west. In just two hours it had reached Front Street and was starting to engulf Esplanade. At this point neighbouring cities were sent an SOS. Thanks to the success of the pleas, the fire was put under control shortly before dawn the following morning. The rubble would smoulder for weeks. Though no cause was ever discovered, it is remarkable that not one life was lost. The extent of the damage was massive and over 100 buildings were destroyed in the very core of the city. Every building from Melinda Street in the north to the Lakeshore and between York and Yonge were destroyed or severely damaged. The repercussions from 5000 of the population being put out of work, and the cost to rebuild would represent close to $7,000,000,000 today. Visit: John McEwan (1841-1917)
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Stephanie Bell-Boissonneault"When researching Family never leave a stone unturned, not even a pebble." Archives
July 2023
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