Municipal Fire Services in Canada: A Preliminary Analysis, spotlights the growing number of firefighters in Ontario and escalating fire service spending across the country. From 1997 to 2012, the number of reported fires in Ontario fell by 41.4 per cent while the number of firefighters increased by 36.3 per cent. During the same 16-year period, the number of firefighters in Canada grew to 32,400 from 25,900—a 25.1 per cent increase, outpacing the country’s overall population growth (16.2 per cent).