This photograph of the Brampton Fire Department was taken in August 1921, during a pivotal period of change, as the modern system was beginning to take shape.

The changes were detailed by historian Russ Cooper and Garry Wilton, a platoon chief, in their 1993 book “Brampton Firefighters.” (Research notes for the book are available at the Archives, by appointment.)

One of the main changes to the fire department noted by Cooper and Wilton was the purchase of a motorized fire truck, to replace the volunteer crew’s “hook and ladder wagon.”

Horses were never used in Brampton, due to the cost of maintaining them, so the hose reel was hauled by hand to fires in the town. Good thing that Brampton in this era was essentially the size of the downtown.

While crews were indeed still volunteers, they began referring to themselves as “firefighters.” This was to distinguish themselves from the “firemen” who would shovel coal into boilers or train engines.

Another innovation of the era was garbage pickup. People would often lollygag and avoid taking their trash to the dump. The 1920s saw the creation of privately-owned firms that could be hired to take your garbage from your house to the dump for you. Paired with Brampton’s first “clean up and paint up” day in May 1920, the reduction in refuse lead to fewer spontaneous garbage fires around town.

In 1921 there was $81,000 worth of fire damage in Brampton. As all the buildings in town were only worth $2.5 million, the authors note that one-30th of the town’s assessed value was destroyed in just that one year.

The image is included on a small touring photo display by PAMA, called “William Perkins Bull: A Passion for History.” At Gore Meadows branch of the Brampton Library for August, the small display will tour to Four Corners in September, Mount Pleasant Village in October, and Chinguacousy branch in November. Exact dates will be available on the PAMA website at www.pama/peelregion.ca s they are announced.

The display celebrates the induction of Bull to the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame, for literary non-fiction, a move announced a few months ago. Bull died in June 1948.

For more from the archives, visit www.pama/peelregion.ca.