William Thornton

St. James Cathedral has been a landmark in Toronto for many years. First built in 1807, it was rebuilt several times until the present day church was finished in 1853. It stands on the north side of King Street just east of Church Street and its large bell was used as the city's fire alarm for many years. Many firefighter funerals would be held there in the years to come. St. James Church is also across the street from the location of the first recorded fatal injury to a firefighter in Ontario (known at that time as Canada West).

Just before one a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, November 22, 1848 the St. James Church bell tolled an alarm of fire. The volunteer firefighters rushed from their homes to Toronto's first fire hall on Church Street between Court and Adelaide Streets just around the corner from the location of the fire.

The fire was located in a block of brick buildings across from the church on the south side of King Street just east of Church Street. The fire had started in Mr. Webb's shoe store and spread to Campbell & Hunter Saddlers, located in the same building.

The volunteer firefighters, under the command of volunteer Fire Chief Robert Beard, went to work with their two hand engines and began the attack. They managed to remove a lot of valuables intact, and kept the fire from spreading to Rogers Hat Store, to the east. The fire, however, spread west to Mr. Hall's Dry Goods store on the corner of Church and King and south to two houses left vacant after an earlier fire. After about two hours with Engine 2 pumping in front of the building on King Street and Engine 1 operating on Church Street, the fire was brought under control and finally extinguished just after three a.m. Only the brick walls were left standing. The building saved by firefighters that night over 150 years ago still stands at 107 King Street East in the shadow of St. James Cathedral.

While working at the fire, volunteer firefighter William Thornton was struck on the head by a falling stone windowsill. His head was severely fractured and he was taken to the nearby fire hall where a Dr. Telfer attended to him. After being bled, a common medical practice of the time, his wound was cleansed and he was taken home, where he died from his injury on Friday, November 24, 1848.

Not much is known about the life of William Thornton, other than that his mother and two sisters, whom he supported, survived him. On Sunday, November 26, 1848, members of the Toronto Fire Brigade held a funeral service for their departed member. His body remained in an unmarked pauper's grave in the older section of St. James Cemetery in Toronto for the next 155 years. Interest generated from the first printing of this book led to the placement of a grave marker on September 14, 2003 to mark the previously unknown grave of the first Toronto line of duty death.

Firefighters from Toronto Fire Services taking William Thornton's grave marker to his grave site in 2003. The hand drawn, hand operated apparatus is similar to the type in use in fire departments around the time of William Thornton's death.
Photo © 2003 Georges Potvin

From left to right: Capt. Robert Kirkpatrick (Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services), Capt. Scott Marks (Toronto Fire Services and President, Toronto Professional Firefighters Association) and Chief William Stewart (Toronto Fire Services) after the dedication of William Thornton's grave marker.
Photo © 2003 Cal Millar

Only yards from his final resting place you will find the grave of the next Toronto firefighter to die in the line of duty.

Reproduced with kind permission of the copyright holder.
From Their Last Alarm
General Store Publishing House
© 2002, 2004 Robert Kirkpatrick