Toronto Ambulance Service Commemorative plaque, 2021.
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Original JPG File | 8400 × 6515 pixels (54.73 MP) 71.1 cm × 55.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Low resolution print | 2000 × 1551 pixels (3.1 MP) 16.9 cm × 13.1 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Resource ID
8895
Access
Open
Address
10 Court Street, Toronto, ON M5C 2G1
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2021
Historical Themes
Health Care
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Time Period
1835-1899, 1900-1953, 1954-1998, 1999-today
Caption
Toronto Ambulance Service Commemorative plaque, 2021.
Description
In 1832, the first organized ambulance service in Toronto began. Its purpose was to transport victims of the cholera epidemic. For nearly 200 years, Toronto’s ambulance service has been managed by the City, hospitals, private contractors, provincial government, and even funeral homes.
In 1888, the Toronto Police Ambulance Service was officially formed. The police service operated four horse-drawn ambulances. Starting in 1913, it began to replace them with motor vehicles. In 1933, the municipal Department of Public Health took control of the service.
Until the 1960s, Ontario’s various ambulance systems faced a number of issues: no central 911 dispatch, a lack of organized training for medics, and long wait times after calling for assistance. In 1974, after a number of incidents involving the deaths of children and lengthy ambulance response times, the province made the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto responsible for all ambulance services in its jurisdiction. In February 1975, the Department of Ambulance Services was formed.
In 1998, the department was absorbed by the newly amalgamated City of Toronto. In 2014, it became the Toronto Paramedic Services. By 2021, this service was responding to nearly 380,000 annual calls.
Marker lat / long: 43.650358, -79.375423 (WGS84)