Total of Eight New Firefighters For Lethbridge - May 25, 2022 - Micah Quinn

Lethbridge City Council unanimously approved the hiring of eight additional firefighters for the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services at a council meeting on Tuesday. A total of $884,600 will be used from unspent operating funds. Ongoing costs of approximately $1 million to $1.3 million per year will be absorbed by LFES with no additional tax pressure.

There have been a number of changes that have affected fire and rescue responses in Lethbridge including increased long distance transfers, responding to emergency calls outside of Lethbridge, increased EMS call volumes, relocating LFES ambulances to outside communities as their ambulances are unavailable. As well as a loss of situational awareness of the LFES ambulances due to the loss of EMS dispatch to AHS, and no additional EMS resources added since 2015.

The release from the city went on to say that in 2014, LFES entered into an Alberta Health Services EMS contract that allowed EMS resources to help in fire suppression. The model is no longer effective as EMS resources are fully committed to EMS events, leaving very limited capacity to support the fire and rescue operations. EMS contract negotiations with AHS will start in the fall of 2022.

Council also approved Option A: Parallel Service - Base Case. It will provide fire and rescue resources the availability to respond to medical emergencies and be available to engage, safely and effectively, in fire and rescue operations. LFES is still transitioning from three-person to four-person fire apparatus. This transition started in 2021 to make sure LFES deploys 24 firefighters on each platoon.

Aired on: Wednesday, May 25, 2022

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