Fire Insurance Plans

Fire Insurance Plans (FIPs) are special maps that were originally published to aid in calculating insurance premiums or payouts for buildings at risk of damage. They are scaled maps showing the footprints and construction materials of built structures in more densely populated areas.
FIPs were published by private companies in the 19th century and into the mid-20th century. These companies loaned the maps on subscription to other businesses. Most FIPs were printed lithographically and then hand-coloured. Not all FIPs that were produced have survived.

What you should know about Fire Insurance Plans

Limited coverage

These maps were only compiled for built-up areas usually with industrial development. Because of the high cost of production, it wasn’t worth constructing maps for rural areas where there were fewer subscribers, and where fire was less likely to spread between many buildings.
Keep in mind that most of the geographical area of Peel was rural and slow-growing until fairly recently. This means that coverage for Peel is limited and sporadic compared to older cities like Toronto.

Revisions

As an area grew, its FIP was sometimes revised to reflect changes. However, again, because the plans were so costly to produce, revisions usually involved pasting new inserts over previous sections of older maps. This means that a Fire Insurance Plan reflects the structures in place at the time of revision.

Keys

FIPs of larger areas were sometimes divided up into smaller maps. The overall key-map to the set of maps uses a number or a colour on an area to indicate which more detailed map you can refer to for that area.

Colour

Types of construction materials (stone, brick, wood etc.) were usually indicated by using certain colours and shading. Unfortunately, some maps now survive only as microfilms in black and white. This makes it harder to figure out construction materials.

Coverage

We have listed all the Fire Insurance Plans held in our collections at the Region of Peel Archives. Digital versions are linked where available.
Note that other institutions hold Fire Insurance Plans covering areas in Peel. For a full list, consult the Resources section of this guide.

Alton

• 1894 (photo reproduction only)
• 1894, revised 1904 (microform only)

Bolton

• December 1891, revised 1904 (microform only, see Library and Archives Canada for a scan)
• June 1939 (microform)

Other institutions have December 1891; December 1891, revised 1896; December 1891, revised 1900; and 1936, revised 1937. See downloadable PDF in following section.

Brampton

• February 1894, revised November 1911 (physical original)
• February 1917 (copy of a map held by Western University)
• February 1921, revised 1924 (physical original)
• August 1931, revised and reprinted November 1940 (physical original and microform)
• March 1971, includes Bramalea (physical original): Unlike prior fire insurance maps, this particular set focuses solely on commercial and industrial areas. A number of schools also are included. Some residences do appear, but only those within close range of a building in those other categories.

Other institutions may have May 1876; May 1876, revised in 1882; August 1931; and June 1937. See downloadable PDF in following section.

Cheltenham

• September 1898 (microform only)
• September 1898, revised 1904 (microform only)
• 1898, revised 1925 (microfilm only)

Clarkson

• April 1936 (microfiche copy)
  Covers Balsam Avenue ("the Crescent"), Lushes Avenue, and the commercial structures along Lakeshore Road.

Cooksville

• Cooksville Shale Brick Co. Ltd., January 1932 (microform only)

Other institutions may have April 1910; January 1939. See downloadable PDF in following section.

Port Credit

• May 1910 (microform only)
• 1952 (physical original, extends from the Port Credit western border near Ben Machree Drive, to the eastern border of Toronto Township, the Humber River, including the community of Lakeview)

Other institutions may have December 1928; ca. 1936. See downloadable PDF in following section.

Streetsville

• June 1884, revised 1904 (microform only, see Library and Archive Canada for a scan )
• January 1939 (microform only)

Other institutions may have June 1884; June 1884, revised 1894; June 1884, revised 1898. See downloadable PDF in following section.

Toronto Township (South of QEW only)

• 1952 (physicaloriginal)