Cochrane council approved a fire services agreement with Rocky View County (RVC) March 10, but not everyone is completely satisfied with new model.
Jared Wallace, a Cochrane firefighter and president for the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), said that although the agreement addressed some of his concerns about response areas, it did not get to the root of the problem.
“The closest, most appropriate fire truck is still not necessarily being dispatched,” said Wallace. “Instead, the response is being dictated by politics and money.”
Wallace pointed to the area south of Cochrane along Highway 22, which is not included in Cochrane Fire’s primary response area.
“Our fire trucks will not respond out of town limits,” he said, “despite being drastically closer than any department.”
Wallace said the incident in February, when one man was killed after his truck collided with a cement truck, is a one example.
“The fatality was 1,800 metres south of Cochrane, and the recue truck cam from Redwood (Meadows), 25 km away.”
Cochrane Fire’s primary response area includes the town of Cochrane and areas to the west, north and east (as seen in the accompanying map), but does not stretch further south beyond town limits.
Asked why the primary response area for Cochrane Fire does not stretch any further south of the town boundary as it does in the west, north and east, Cochrane Fire chief Mac deBeaudrap said it was Springbank’s area of response, but did not elaborate further on why the decision was made to allot this area to Springbank and not to Cochrane Fire.
The Springbank Fire Station is located approximately 15 km from the area south of James Walker Trail on Highway 22. A man was killed Feb. 13 on Highway 22 when his truck collided with a cement truck two kilometres south of Cochrane.
The agreement between the town and RVC will cost the county $300,000 for response within the town and set up a fee-for-service basis for areas outside Cochrane.
The $300,000 fee includes up to 200 incident responses within the primary area — those in addition would be subject to a fee — and any response to a fire call that exceeds three hours in duration will be subject to additional charges.
The agreement carries a term of one year, but does come with an option for extension.
The secondary response area encompasses a much larger section, from the RVC-Mountain View County border to the north, Ghost Lake in the west, Bearspaw and Springbank to the east and south of the TransCanada Highway.
Additional hourly service fees for response to the secondary area include: $1,345 for an engine or rescue vehicle; $960 for a tanker; $875 for a bush buggy; $2,275 for an aerial apparatus; $595 for an aquatic craft; $180 for a chief or deputy chief; $110 for captains and fire inspectors; and $85 for each firefighter.
Therefore, if Cochrane Fire were dispatched to a fire in the secondary response area, sending one engine, a captain and three firefighters to fire, and it took them three hours before being relieved, the cost to RVC would ring in a $5,130.
Wallace feels that Cochrane and RVC fire departments should be relying on each other to best provide public safety.
“The closest, most appropriate resource should be sent,” said Wallace, “regardless of the agency involved…that’s how you provide proper public safety.”
