Fire services in Wandering River have been suspended effective Feb. 15.
“We had a critical shortage of volunteers,” said Athabasca County director of emergency services Ron Jackson. “We were down to two.”
The news is another blow to the all-volunteer department, which announced last June that it was suspending its service due to the overwhelming emergency response need on Highway 63.
At the time, Wandering River firefighters were responsible for both the hamlet and a 128 km expanse of the highway, and with each volunteer balancing those duties with full-time jobs, the responsibility became extremely daunting.
The department did continue fire protection within Wandering River with the addition of a few new volunteers, all of which have since withdrawn from their positions, forcing this recent shutdown.
Jackson said that they are working with the Alberta Government to explore any options they may have, but that the possibility of the fire department reopening “lies in the hands of the community.”
Jackson indicated that a minimum of 12 volunteers are needed in order for the department to operate properly, with four required to respond to any given emergency.
The June announcement resulted in much lengthier response times to highway accidents, as volunteer departments from surrounding communities were forced to take up the slack. This recent suspension will certainly produce the same kind of delays for emergency situations within the municipality itself.
Grassland will be primarily responsible for emergencies within Wandering River, and will also, along with Boyle, respond to highway incidents south of the hamlet.
Council’s vote to close the department took place during their regular meeting on Jan. 27. Notifications of the closure were mailed to Wandering River residents last week.
