Service de protection contre les incendies de Québec (SPCIQ, ''Quebec City Fire Protection Service'') is responsible for fire prevention and suppression in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. However, the

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

's field of competence is not limited to this; they respond to vehicle accidents,

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...

(

HAZMAT Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...

) calls, electrical hazards, floods, wildfires and many other situations in which citizens are in need of external help.

History

Professional fire fighting in Quebec began in 1765, but the current force was created by amalgamation of several area fire services in 2002: * Québec: provided fire protection to Charlesbourg, Beauport and Vanier before amalgamation * Sainte-Foy: provided fire protection to Cap-Rouge and l'Ancienne-Lorette * Sillery * Val-Bélair *

Loretteville Loretteville is a former city in central Quebec, Canada. It was amalgamated into Quebec City on January 1, 2002. It is located within the borough of La Haute-Saint-Charles, and also contains the upmarket neighbourhood of Montchâtel. Its population ...

* Saint-Émile * Lac Saint-Charles *

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City. The town was founded in 1691 by three families (Desroches, Racette, Couture). It was merged with Quebec City on January 1, 2002 ...

* Duberger * Neufchâtel Despite presence of a fire service, Quebec suffered two devastating fires:

Quebec fires of 1845

In 1845 Quebec would face two devastating fires resulting in 50 deaths, 3000 buildings lost, 22,000 residents losing their homes or business and caused extensive damage to the two-thirds of the city outside of the Fortification thus sparing

Old Quebec Old Quebec (french: Vieux-Québec) is a historic neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Comprising the Upper Town (french: Haute-Ville) and Lower Town (french: Basse-Ville), the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Administratively, Old ...

(La Basse-Ville de Québec): * May 28 - the first fire that began in a tannery on rue Arago and burned down wood structures in the Lower Town and

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

area * June 28 - the second fire began in the Upper Town, in St. Jean ( Saint-Jean-Baptiste) and St. Louis (

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...

)

Great Fire of Quebec 1866

A fire at a store on rue St. Joseph on 14 October 1866 resulted in 2500-3000 buildings lost, 7 deaths and 20,000 residents homeless. Wind and lack of water resulted in extensive damage (significant part of St. Sauver razed) but Saint Roch was spared with less fire damage.

Ranks

Besides regular firefighter, SPCIQ has other ranks: * Logistics platoon leader * Chief of logistics operations * Platoon leader * Chief operating officer * Chief of operations * Platoon chief * SST platoon chief * Deputy director - operations * Deputy director - strategic and administrative affairs * Director

Operations

There are 16 stations with no station 14 assigned:

Innovations

Quebec is one of a few fire services outside of Europe using the Gallet

F1 helmet For centuries, firefighters have worn helmets to protect them from heat, cinders and falling objects. Although the shape of most fire helmets has changed little over the years, their composition has evolved from traditional leather to metals (i ...

forgoing the traditional

leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

or structural helmets used in North America. Quebec is the oldest service using aerial tiller truck, most other fire departments in Canada abandoned their use.

Marine rescue

Quebec City uses small vessels with outboard motor mainly for marine rescue operations. Known vessels include: * Airsolid 16' inflatable rescue boat * NAV 16 inflatable rescue boat Rapid Deployment Craft are unpowered inflatable vessel used for ice rescue operations. Major fire suppression can be assisted by

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in ...

vessels stationed nearby along the St. Lawrence River. Marine rescue is further enhanced by the

Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre Quebec Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre Quebec (MRSC Quebec) is a Canadian Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre that coordinates search and rescue operations in the following waters: * the St. Lawrence River within the province of Quebec * the northern and western wat ...

References

External links

Quebec City Fire Department

Quebec City Firefighters' Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Service de protection contre les incendies de Quebec

2002 establishments in Quebec Municipal government of Quebec City