Outside of Whitecourt, Fort Assiniboine has the largest Woodlands County team with 21 firefighters on staff explained Sheldon Schoepp, Manager, Protective Services, to the Woodlands County Council on June 19.
The Fort Assiniboine fire station had 71 calls in 2023.
There were 1051 staff hours used. The average number of responders per call was 6.6 and the average respond time per call was 21:29 minutes, according to Schoepp.
The calls consisted of fire response for structural and wildland fires, fire alarms, false alarms and aiding EMS, and other fire stations.
The Fort Assiniboine team answered calls through-out the Woodlands County and neighboring counties.
Calls increased from 2022 to 2023 by 10 calls (16 percent).
Call categories that saw the increase in volume were fire calls, vehicle accident calls and mutual aid calls.
New categories on the report for 2023 were Gas Leaks and Rescue calls.
In comparison, the Goose Lake station has nine team members on staff.
Goose Lake station received 19 calls in 2023 and used 42 staff hours, Schoepp explained.
The average number of responders per call was 1 and the average response time was just under 13 minutes, according to FirePro system data. There can be additional responders that go to calls in their personal vehicles, said Schoepp.
Councillor Williams, for Fort Assiniboine, explained that the Goose Lake calls are water support, so an additional vehicle is taken to a different area for the call.
The calls consisted of fire response for structural and wildland fires, rescue calls and aiding EMS, and other fire stations.
Calls to Goose Lake Station decreased from 2022 to 2023 by 3 calls, or 14 per cent.
Calls for fire response dropped by half and calls for aid to other stations increased.
There are 5 fire stations within Woodlands County.
The fire stations outside of Whitecourt have a total of 56 team members.
Open house events happen at all stations. School aged children come into the station for tours.
Health and wellness activities are important to the well-being of firefighters. “Training is the backbone of Woodlands County fire department,” remarked Schoepp.
Member training hours range from 59 to 141 hours per member.
Budget constraints include specialized gear that requires a long delivery time with climbing costs.
In 2025 to 2027 it will come time to replace capital vehicles that are 20 years old, Schoepp said.
