Waterloo Fire Department Hat Badges, Buttons, Collar Dogs and Service Bars

1880 to 1980

It’s not a coincidence that fire departments around the world use the same symbols on badges and buttons. The Maltese Cross and the bugle are both international fire fighting symbols. The Maltese Cross is a firefighter’s badge of honour and a symbol of protection. Each of the eight points in the cross represents one quality a firefighter possesses – perseverance, loyalty, dexterity, explicitness, observation, sympathy, tact and gallantry. Bugles, or speaking trumpets, were one of the earliest pieces of fire equipment. The firefighter in charge of directing the company used the speaking trumpet to communicate his instructions to those fighting the fire. This responsibility gave the firefighter a higher rank, and the bugle came to symbolize this. The more bugles, the higher the rank. In Waterloo, you can find bugles on the buttons of a firefighter’s dress uniform.

Small rectangular Service bars are worn on the sleeve cuff of a dress uniform. Firefighters are awarded one bar for every five years of service.

The colour of the metal used for badges, buttons, collar dogs and service bars on the firefighter’s dress uniform also shows rank. Gold for higher ranks and silver for lower ranks.

This silver hat badge dates from the 1880s when Waterloo was still a small town. The Waterloo Fire Department was still a group of volunteers using a hand pump, buckets, ladders, and hook poles to fight fires. The badge has an image of an early fire wagon. This simple pump needed six or more men to make it work. One end of the hose was dropped into a nearby cistern. The men pumped the bar up and down constantly, drawing up water through the hose to fight the fire. A tough way to get water.

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