King Fire mourns loss of former chief Lorne Burbidge

April 29, 2020 · 0 Comments

King Township has lost a long -serving member of its firefighter alumni.
Veteran firefighter and former chief Lorne Burbidge passed away April 20 with his family at his side.
Lorne Burbidge and his childhood sweetheart, Isobel (nee Bishop) moved from Vaughan to King City in 1962. Lorne was at that time a firefighter in North York (now Toronto). His career there spanned from 1957 to 1993.
Lorne was promoted to Captain, District Chief and finally to Platoon Chief in North York.
During those years Lorne also showed that he was committed to the safety of his fellow residents of King City. Not long after moving to King City Lorne joined the fire department and was promoted to captain in King City and from 1980 until 1986 served his community as fire chief.
When Lorne was promoted to District Chief in North York he knew that the demands of that position would require him to resign from King City.
As Fire Chief in King City, Lorne started a serious modernization of the department, including the purchase of the first diesel truck with the largest fire pump in the township at that time. The large fire pump needed a diesel engine to run it.
The fire station in King City was expanded and upgraded and training became an important part of Lorne’s time as chief.
On top of all this Lorne and Isobel raised a family of three sons, Alex, David and Bryan and a daughter, Heather.
All three sons followed their father into the King City Fire Department. They shared Lorne’s dedication to their community.
King City was truly blessed to have had Lorne and many others inspired by Lorne to serve as firefighters.
One cannot serve as did Lorne without support at home and Lorne had this support unequivocally from Isobel and the rest of the family.
King Fire Chief Jim Wall called Burbidge a “true gentleman,” who often stopped by the station to chat long after his retirement. He was a “gem of a person and will be sadly missed.”
A private service will be conducted with a celebration of Lorne’s life to be held sometime in the future when such gatherings are safe.