ATHABASCA – The Athabasca Fire Department made sure to break in their new fire engine in 2023, with the volunteer firefighters spending 2,001 hours on calls, up from just 848 hours in 2022.
Town of Athabasca councillors got to hear about the year from the horse’s mouth Jan. 23, as fire chief Jason Sturrock broke down the yearly stats and updated council on the 2024 plans.
“Once again we can’t thank them enough for the amount of work they do in our community,” said Mayor Rob Balay. “I was encouraged by the amount of training they undertake, and it’s a big positive to hear that the activity with the 22 members, that 75 per cent of them are engaged. It’s great.”
“2023 was definitely a much busier year than 2022,” said Sturrock, who pointed out that the 2,001 hours didn’t include the time the men and women spent training. “Wildfires and an increase in calls like medical calls are a big part of it.”
Sturrock said the biggest “achievement” of the year was the department’s new fire engine.
“The new engine increases efficiency, improves operator and firefighter safety, and the members are proud of this new addition,” said the chief. “The control panel is inside the truck, so you’re not standing beside it. If you’re at a motor vehicle collision or something like that, you’re not putting yourself in a spot where you could potentially get hit by the vehicle.”
Through donation, the department had also acquired a new command unit — he said while they had always had one, the old one was in a state of disrepair. When the crews get to a medical call before an ambulance, Sturrock said the new unit is a big help.
“It varies, some months we’ll get there two or three times before an ambulance, some months we’re not. Sometimes we’re waiting for a minute or two, sometimes, like tonight, we’re waiting for 10 to 12 minutes,” he said, adding he had just come from a call to the town council meeting.
“We’re fortunate that we have a lot of primary care paramedics and nurses on our department, so we’re pretty well set up when we get to a scene. They’re able to stabilize and help until the ambulance gets there.”
The department responded to 49 medical calls in 2023, 23 more than the 26 they responded to in 2022. The 23 medical calls made up 40 per cent of the department's call volume increase; Athabasca’s firefighters went out to 180 calls last year, as opposed to 123 in 2022.
“EMS is busy, they’re going everywhere, they’re short-staffed,” said Sturrock. “It’s not going to change, if anything it’s going to get busier, so we need to get prepared for that.”
The department will be trying out a new training program in the new year, which will include a new twist. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the hope is that thanks to some new online learning methods from firefighter schools, volunteers could complete their National Fire Protection (NFP) certification without having to travel.
“At the end of the day you would be coming out with the same seal. We’re trying to see what kinds of programs line up with what our budget is,” said Sturrock. “It will save us a lot of money, we just need to find a school that will work with us on it, and it looks like (Sherwood Park) wants to.”
While it did receive an influx of new members in 2023, bringing its current total to 22, the detachment will again focus on recruitment in 2024.
“We’ve put together a recruitment team and we’re hoping to get between six and eight more members,” said Sturrock, who himself is new to the role after taking over the department midway through 2023. “We’re targeting the high school, we’ve set up a meeting with (EPC) to review the junior program.”
Volunteer firefighter recruitment isn’t just an issue in Athabasca — the Community Fire Chief Association (CFCA) has been lobbying the federal government for support, including a recent proposal to increase a firefighting tax credit from $3,000 to $10,000.
To aid in that, the Town of Athabasca will be sending a letter to local MPs, including Shannon Stubbs, advocating for the increase — the motion to send the letter passed unanimously.
“For a community our size, we can’t afford to have a big fire staff, so we rely very heavily on our volunteers to fulfil that role,” said Balay. “I’ve always said that the commitment we get from them, not only do they bring a lot of professionalism and a lot of training, but many of them are paramedics as well. They play a vital role in making our community the safe place that it is.”
