Calgary Firefighters are spread too thin.

Not so fun fact: Calgary firefighters do more than just fight fires. In the same amount of time it takes to watch a show on Netflix, Calgary firefighters could get called to seven different medical emergencies.

Calgary is growing but the fire department budget has been shrinking for years. In the last 7 years, $25 million has been cut. At the same time, we are responding to more and more emergencies. Since the pandemic, things have gotten even worse.

Here’s what we’re up against in the first half of 2022*

• Fire call have increased by 25%
• Calgary firefighters have also responded to 21% more car crashes

Firefighters also responded to over 4,000 overdose and poisoning calls last year – a sevenfold increase from 541 in 2016. 

Firefighters don’t just fight fires. We’re responding to critical—and traumatic—emergencies every single day. No matter where you live in the city, we do our best to get to you as fast as we can. But without adequate resources, it’s getting harder and harder for us to help you when you need us most. We need at least 315 firefighters over the next four years to do our jobs – safely.

*As compared to the same period last year (January 2021 – August 2021)

Tell City Council it’s time to restore funding so we’re there when you need us.

It’s no secret our city is expanding in both size and population. We work to protect residents both new and established—but none of this growth should come at the cost of safety. The number and severity of our call volumes is increasing. Without proper funding to ensure we have enough staff and the right equipment, we can’t help you when you need us most.

Tell City Council it’s time to restore funding so we’re there when you need us.

It is safer to live in Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. Yes–you read that correctly. The Calgary Fire Department is the lowest staffed fire service of any metro Canadian city. Despite our best efforts, the bottom line is we are spread too thin.

Tell City Council it’s time to restore funding so we’re there when you need us.

Over the last four years, the fire budget has been cut by nearly $35 million. Yet in the last three years, council approved 14 new communities—with more on the way. It doesn’t add up.

Politics cannot come before safety. The number of first responders who show up in an emergency should never be determined by the leanings of a particular council. We need to take action now. We need our budget restored, and we need to elect a council who will commit to it.

We cannot continue to burn ourselves out keeping Calgarians safe, without the right tools to do our job. Without funding for new staff and stations, we simply cannot do our jobs.

Tell City Council it’s time to restore funding so we’re there when you need us.

Thanks to your actions we’re on track to restoring Calgary’s firefighting budget. 

With your support, Calgary firefighters have been able to: 

• Prevent the closure of Fire Station No. 6.
• Secure safer working conditions for firefighters with a 24-hour shift system.
• Elect a mayor and city councillors who have committed to reversing cuts to the Fire Department
• Deliver short-term funding to support training & hiring new firefighters.
• Speak up for public safety and the need for more firefighters during budget consultations.
• Push city staff to release a plan to bring firefighter staffing levels & operations up to national standards.

But the work isn’t over. 

We’re still doing more and more with less and less. We cannot continue to keep Calgarians safe with our current resources. 

City Council must help firefighters meet the minimum industry safety standard of four firefighters on Engines, Ladders, and Rescues.

Take action today and email your local city councillor to restore funding so we’re there when you need us.