Councillors feel heat of firefighters' vital job in hands-on showcase

Hosted at the Calgary Fire Department's training academy near Elliston Park, Fire Ops 101 intended to give local lawmakers a taste of what the average day can be like for a firefighter.

Nine councillors participated, including Kim Tyers, Jennifer Wyness, Andrew Yule, DJ Kelly, John Pantazopoulos, Nathaniel Schmidt, Myke Atkinson, Harrison Clark and Mike Jamieson.

Decked out in full firefighting gear, they were put through a series of mock scenarios, including extinguishing a structure fire, a water rescue, an emergency medical response and a vehicle extrication using the Jaws of Life.

One of the calls came midway through the day's planned lunch break, highlighting that the alarm can sound at any time.

"It's really driven home the point that the Calgary Fire Department is delivering important front-line services," Clark said.

"We've gone into burning buildings, we've cut the roofs off cars, we've scoured lakes for individuals - it's been quite the day."

Jamie Blayney, president of the Calgary Firefighters Association, which puts on the exercise, said the purpose was to expose elected officials to the variety of scenarios firefighters can face during any given shift.

"We can go and talk to councillors about what our days look like, but having them here to experience it with us is what really helps the conversation," Blayney said.

"We want to get them in our boots, in our gear, on the trucks, and just demonstrate one little bit about what a typical day is."

This year's Fire Ops 101 comes six months before council deliberates the city's next four-year budget, which will determine the city's fiscal spending plan from 2027 to 2030.

"This gives us a really good hands-on experience, so that when we sit down around the horseshoe at budget time, we know exactly what it is that our various departments are looking for," Kelly said.

"What it is that our firefighters go through every single day is really quite amazing, and they deserve our support and admiration. Not just lip service, but giving them the resources that they need in order to be able to get the job done."

The Calgary Fire Department's operating budget is $363 million this year, accounting for about eight per cent of the city's operating expenses. The department's capital budget is $57 million.

While council has approved budget increases for fire services in recent years - including a $21-million increase this year compared to 2024 - budget hikes haven't always kept pace with the city's growth, Blayney said.

"We're a city racing toward two million people and, to be honest, we're already behind," he said. "So this next budget cycle is going to be integral for us to not only catch up, but to prepare for the future as we go over that two-million mark."

Firefighting has become more complex in the past decade, according to Blayney, who added that fires burn hotter and faster, with structure fires doubling in size in as little as 30 seconds.

And the rapid growth of new neighbourhoods on the city's outskirts means that more fire halls are needed for crews to respond to those communities as quickly as possible.

"Seconds count, so the quicker we're on scene - whether it's a fire or a lake emergency or a car accident - we've got to get there with the tools required to do our job," Blayney said. "And that's what's going to be asked of this council in the next four years, to make sure we're up to date with industry standards."

Last year, the fire department responded to more than 92,000 calls, about half of which were medical emergencies. Calls have grown by 50 per cent overall since 2020.

sstrasser@postmedia.com