The history of the Mill Bay Fire Department dates back to 1940, as with others on Canada’s west coast, had their start as a Civil Defence Guild Fire Hall. Mill Bay was Guild Hall # 30. In 1963 The Mill Bay Fire Protection District was incorporated under the Water Act by Letters Patent. The original members of the Mill Bay Fire Department recognized right away the importance of a strong social support program, along with providing morale & financial assistance for local organized sports clubs & families in need. In 1963, the members of the Mill Bay Fire Department identified the need to separate the voluntary community services they provide from the official duties of the fire department, creating the Mill Bay Firefighters Association. In the past, the primary functions of the association focused on local charities, student college bursaries, Halloween fireworks displays for the community, little league teams as well as raising funds for Muscular Dystrophy, with the operational side of the association being responsible for health & welfare benefits for our membership. The Mill Bay Fire Department completed its busiest year to date with 297 fire calls in 2005, the dramatic increase in fire calls has each member of this department struggling to find an acceptable balance between work (full time & part time), family lives & other responsibilities. While the association remains focused on it’s original principles, the evolution of the fire service in this community now requires the association to deal with benefits, labour relations, departmental policy changes at the same time attempting to develop a structured framework complete with mission & vision statements to protect each members quality of life. The Mission of the Mill Bay Firefighters Association is to protect lives and property from destruction by fire or disaster. We believe the people in our towns are our most valuable resource and are the reason for our presence. The Mill Bay Firefighters Association will achieve these goals by being innovative in our thinking, effective in our actions, displaying excellence in our performance and working safely in all conditions. We will strive to provide a proactive, highly trained Association to meet this Mission. To accomplish this Mission we understand Input is valued Respect for one another is of the utmost importance Teamwork is imperative Compassion towards each other is needed Open communication is necessary Vision To Continue Our Commitment to Excellence and Provide a Dynamic Emergency Service, Respected and Valued by Our Customers (the Community)