Global News has heard that Calgary firefighters are dissatisfied with the city’s projected financing for the fire service in its future four-year budget.
The new information comes after fire Chief Steve Dongworth addressed city councillors earlier this summer with several funding options to help bolster firefighting resources and response times.
The total cost of the funding options came to $52 million in operating funds and $51 million in capital funds with the addition of 315 firefighters over the next four years.
The fire department’s request for that money in the upcoming four-year budget may not be fully fulfilled, according to preliminary budget data acquired by Global News.
According to the data, it is suggested that the capital financing request, which would cover things like two new fire stations and new aerial units, be postponed until the subsequent four-year budget cycle.
The numbers indicate that the fire department might obtain $16.2 million of its requested operating money throughout the course of 2025 and 2026.
Calgary Firefighters Association president Codey McIntyre said he is concerned about the potential impact to the fire department and its response times.
McIntyre told Global News, “We’re at our breaking point.” “With eight new neighbourhoods approved by city council, we’ve seen our city expand bigger and bigger, yet the budget for the Calgary Fire Department is going smaller and smaller.”
The funding request comes after a notice of motion from Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness directed officials to explore what resources would be required to get to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
Although NFPA standards aren’t regulations, they serve as a baseline for the fire industry and include staffing requirements and reaction time goals for fires of six minutes and 20 seconds.
City administration determined that reaching NFPA standards aren’t feasible in Calgary because it would take between 15 and 20 years and a near doubling of the current fire department budget.
At the time, Calgary Fire Department officials anticipated the implementation of the options included in the funding request would contribute to a one-minute 15-second improvement in response times to assemble 12 firefighters at the scene of a fire, otherwise known as an “effective response force. ”
Currently, the fire service responds to fire emergencies within seven minutes and 40 seconds 90% of the time.
If we don’t get this financing, McIntyre said, “I’m worried for Calgary residents and I’m worried about your Calgary firemen.”
Carla Male, the chief financial officer of the City of Calgary, said in a statement to Global News that the city’s service and budget plans “are still under development” and that the Calgary Fire Department has “many requests that they have put forward for consideration.”
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According to Male’s statement, the Calgary Fire Department’s service plans and budgets are just a small element of a much wider strategy to keep the city alive and a secure place to live, work, and play. We’re putting together a well-considered recommendation for operating and capital budget in line with population growth and inflation, along with other city services.
Male further stated that the budget will be discussed by city council in November once it has been “holistically” reviewed.
The city council will review the fire department’s budget request and the funding recommendations made by administration during upcoming budget discussions, according to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
Gondek, though, asserted that the problem might be an illustration of the fire service’s absence of an oversight body akin to what the Calgary Police Service has.
“Because they have a police commission, they are able to forward a budget that is reviewed by the oversight body,” Gondek told Global News.
“The Calgary Fire Department lacks that capability in this circumstance… They rely heavily on the executive leadership team to either move forward with the ask and believe that they are asking for the right thing or to make the necessary adjustments.
Budget deliberations begin on November 21..
According to a document, funding to increase Calgary firefighter response is not anticipated until 2025.
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