BARRHEAD - Ambulance or medical assistance calls continued to lead the way for responses by the Barrhead Regional Fire Services (BRFS) in 2024.
Fire chief Gary Hove told County of Barrhead councillors during their March 4 meeting that firefighters responded to 483 incidents, of which nearly 60 per cent (278) were medical assistance calls.
Hove was at the meeting to present the department's 2024 annual report.
Most of the responses to ambulance assistance calls were from the Town of Barrhead at 202, compared to 76 in the county.
Hove said although the number of ambulance assistance calls was higher than the norm, it is typical for the BRFS to respond to more calls in the town because many of the calls originate from the senior assisted-living residences.
Coun. Ron Kleinfeldt asked why there was such a significant jump in ambulance assistance calls, noting in 2023, firefighters only responded to 46 calls.
Hove attributed it to the lack of available ambulance crews because they are either transferring patients to other medical facilities or cross-covering for shortages in other communities.
However, he said he does not know that for sure, adding he is trying to get information from Alberta Health Services and Associated Ambulance, which holds the regional emergency medical services contract with the province.
"We haven't changed our protocols on what we go to," he said.
In 2018, Hove changed BRFS' medical assistance protocols to only include responses to the most immediate or critical medical calls.
The next highest category in 2024 was alarm investigations at 100, with 54 calls coming from the town and 46 from the county, followed by grass or wildland fires at 22, all in the county, and 16 fire responses, including structure and vehicle fires with 10 being in the county and six from the town. The department also responded to 22 calls in the other or miscellaneous category, including motor vehicle collisions on municipally controlled roads. BRFS also responded to 30 motor vehicle collisions on Alberta transportation-controlled highways, with funding for the response coming from the province. The fire department also responded to four municipal-aid incidents involving neighbouring communities and 11 mutual aid deployments for the province.
Hove said BRFS members responded to fewer provincial deployments in 2024 than the previous year.
Replacement for Engine 33 on its way
However, he said that might change when BRFS receives its new fire engine to replace the retiring Engine 33.
"Our new truck [2025 Rosenbauer commercial crew cab pumper from Rocky Mountain Phoenix] is under production. They sent me a picture of the cab and chassis that they are starting to work on," Hove said, adding he expects the new engine to be delivered sometime in April or May. "We met with the province [during their annual audit] and showed them a picture of what we were getting, and they were delighted that the municipalities took the money they received from previous deployments and put it towards a new piece of apparatus."
He said during the audit, Alberta Wildfire takes note of potential equipment and the training of firefighters to generate an inventory of potential assets they can call upon for joint wildfire deployments during fire season.
Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz asked if the tariffs the U.S. government may introduce would impact the unit's price.
"[The municipalities] have a signed contract with Rocky Mountian Phoenix [based in Red Deer] guaranteeing the price," he said, adding any additional costs from potential tariffs would be the responsibility of the company.
In this case, Hove did not believe it would be an issue for the company, as they purchased the base truck and cab chassis before U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration.
"They sent me a picture of the truck under construction, and they haven't said anything about tariffs to me. I don't think it will be a problem," he said.
Hove added when he first started investigating the potential of purchasing a fire truck, people in the industry told him he should pull the trigger sooner rather than later.
"Because they had a feeling something was going to happen," he said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
