Rene Fontaine John R’ Mitchell John C. Gibson Gordon R Anderson Robert T. Macdonald
(Treasurer) (Secretary) (President) IAFF Vice President (Trustee)
Officers of IAFF Local 1782, Coquitlam BC are shown with sixth District V.P. Gordon R. Anderson.
An IAFF Charter was granted on July 8th, 1968, and a professional full-time fire department was established in the City of Coquitlam.
The members were organized by Vice President Anderson and received their first contract, which provided a 42 hour work week and a salary schedule similar to the Vancouver Fire Department.
That day a group of nineteen men proudly joined the International Association of Firefighters.
Local 1782 Firefighters
Front Row: Douglas Johnson, Maurice Boisse, Vern (Bernard) Proulx, Rene Fontaine, John Mitchel
Back Row: Bill (William) Marshall, Jim (James) Morgan, Kenneth Nichols, John Gibson, Dick (Richard) Ortner, Alex Blake
Missing are: Mathew Bond Robert Macdonald
From that day forward we have been known as Coquitlam Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1782. Many of these men carried on as leaders both in the Union, and later the Administration of the Fire Department for what was then the District of Coquitlam.
On April 01 1988 the Essondale Fire department ceased to exist and ten of its members were hired by the District of Coquitlam.
Local 1782 has become more and more politically active, collaborating with the BC Professional Fire Fighters Association, the International Association of Firefighters, and other Locals.
Political action has most recently, at the federal level, contributed to a memorial grant for those members who have passed away in the line of duty.
Local 1782 now stands at 167 members.
