Volunteer fire brigades provided protection from 1886 to 1909, when a professional fire department was organized.  It employed 12 fire fighters of all ranks in 1910, its first full year of operation.  By 1985, the department employed 122 fire fighters of all ranks.  The Fire Department took over the horse-drawn ambulance from Galt hospital in June 1912.  When it acquired the ambulance service, the Department began to emphasize first aid training even more than previously.  By 1913, all members of the Department held St. John Ambulance Association certificates.  This made Lethbridge one of the first integrated services in the country.

The ever-increasing responsibilities assigned to the department were not only for fire protection, but for ambulance and rescue services as well.  It also included preventive services such as public education and training, inspections, and investigations.  Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Medical Service was a fully professional body, secure in the knowledge that it could handle whatever medical emergency or fire that might occur.

Fire Prevention Week

A fire that started on October 9, 1871 when Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a coal oil lantern clearly pointed out the need for public fire safety awareness.  The fire started in the barn and soon spread to surrounding homes and buildings.  Before long, much of Chicago was on fire.  What became known as the Great Chicago Fire killed 300 people, burned down 20,000 homes and buildings and left nearly 100,000 people homeless.  In 1922, the President of the United States proclaimed the first Fire Prevention Week, to be observed the week of October 9th, "by every man, woman and child, not only during this week but throughout every hour of every week of the year."

Every year, people in North America observe Fire Prevention Week.  In Alberta, the tradition goes back to 1929 with an extensive campaign by the predecessor of the present Fire Commissioner's Office of Alberta Labour.  Today, fire departments across the province promote Fire Prevention Week in their communities to remind people about the importance of fire safety.