Calgary Fire adds second medical unit downtown to offset high call volume

The Calgary Fire Department has deployed a second medical response unit to try to cope with the high volume of calls in the inner city.

The CFD says it responds to life-threatening medical emergencies like shortness of breath, cardiac arrest, and overdoses.

The smaller vehicles only respond to medical calls in order to free up the fire engines and other heavier vehicles for other emergencies.

Each unit is staffed by two firefighters, although the units aren’t designed for patient transport.

Firefighters will stay with a patients until Alberta Health Services EMS get to the scene to help with patient care and transport throught the call.

The units were established with council funding in last year’s budget, with the first one back on the road in 2023.

It operates out of the Station 1 downtown, and responded to almost 6,000 calls in its first year.

Last year, fire crews responded to 52,000 medical calls, up 18 per cent from the year before.

According to the department, the number of responses to opioid calls was 45 per cent higher in 2023 than 2022.

Medical calls represent more than half of the department’s annual call volume, more than all other types of calls combined.

The second unit will operate out of Station 2 in the Beltline.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the provincial government is not matching the funds for these units.

“Right now, 55 per cent of the the calls for the Calgary Fire Department are medical response calls, that’s why we have these two response units,” she said. “That’s not their primary role but they’re out there doing this work because it has to get done.

“Opioid calls alone are up 45 per cent year-over-year, so our fire department needs a lot of support from the provincial government who should really be covering the cost of the medical calls.”

The CFD says it expects the Medical Response units will respond to around 10,000 calls this year.