PEFD Media Kit

The Perth East Fire Department is made up of three stations and a roster of 67 firefighters. The stations are located in Milverton, Sebringville and Shakespeare. The Fire Chief, Fire Prevention Officer and Admin. Assistant/Public Educator operate out of the Municipal Office in Milverton.

Fire Department Services

The Perth East Fire Department is staffed with a dedicated group of paid on call firefighters from the community.  Our firefighters train continuously to handle an extremely wide variety of calls safely, efficiently, and professionally.

We work within our community through

• Public Education
• Fire Prevention and Proactive fire inspections
• Emergent Response and Suppression

Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The Township of Perth East also provides Public Education, Fire Prevention/Investigation and Fire Chief services to the Municipality of West Perth. Please visit the West Perth Fire Department website here.

Both the fire department and our media partners share a goal of maintaining accuracy. We've compiled a list of proper terminology for the media to use in releases, articles and news features. Some terms are commonly used during emergency incidents, others are frequently interchanged with improper/inaccurate terms.

Common Proper/Improper Terms:

• Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms (the term "detector" is different - read more about the difference). When referring to laws or messages with regard to homes, "alarms" should be used. "Detectors" are often found in facilities such as hotels, hospitals, etc. 

• Carbon Monoxide is "CO" not "CO2"
• Our fire department/township is "Perth East" not "East Perth"
• Firefighter – not fireman or firemen

Incident Terminology

• Aerial – a fire apparatus with an elevating ladder and pumping capabilities
• Commercial occupancy – store
• Defensive attack – firefighters fight the fire from the outside of the building
• Engine – a fire apparatus that has pumping capabilities
• Extrication – firefighters use their hydraulic tools to create access in order to remove occupants from the vehicle
• Fire apparatus – fire trucks
• Fire Marshal has been notified – we are mandated to contact the Ontario Fire Marshal when certain circumstances exist (value of loss, type of occupancy, etc.)
• FPO – Fire Prevention Officer
• Fully involved – smoke and fire throughout the entire building
• Hydraulic extrication tools – not Jaws of Life
• Industrial occupancy - factory
• Motor Vehicle Collision – not accident
• Multi family dwelling – apartment building
• MVC – Motor Vehicle Collision
• Offensive attack – firefighters enter the structure to extinguish the fire
• Rescue – fire apparatus that primarily transports firefighters & specialized equipment to calls
• Single family dwelling – house with occupants
• Structure fire – this is a building fire and more information will be disclosed as we learn what type of building
• Tanker – fire apparatus that primarily transports large amounts of water to a scene (see Tanker Shuttle)
• Tanker shuttle – fire is located in an area without fire hydrants and we use water hauling tanker trucks to deliver water to the scene
• Under investigation – we are investigating to determine the cause and origin of the fire
• Undetermined – An investigation has concluded without definitively identifying the cause of the fire
• Vulnerable Occupancy – refers to Care Occupancies, Care and Treatment Occupancies, or Retirement Homes