STATIONS

As our community has experienced a period of explosive growth, our fire department's infrastructure has not kept pace. The Town of Cochrane is currently served by a single, central fire station. This presents a growing challenge, as the number of emergency calls has climbed to roughly 1,500 per year, and the areas with the second and third-highest call volumes are in the farthest reaches from the downtown station. A single station creates a significant disadvantage in a race against time.

While the fire department strives to meet the 10-minute response standard outlined in the Alberta Building Code, this benchmark is on the higher end of what is considered acceptable. This 10 minute timeframe is established to trigger additional building code requirements - it does not take into account the human considerations as they apply to fire growth, rescue, and tenability for trapped occupants. Most progressive municipalities aim for a much shorter response time, typically between four and eight minutes. With only one central station, every emergency in the outer parts of town is a long drive away. A motor vehicle collision on the far side of the community, for example, can consume all available resources, leaving the rest of the town without immediate fire or medical coverage.

This single-station model is not only inefficient, but it also creates a significant risk, especially as routine calls frequently consume all available resources and the number of simultaneous emergencies increases year after year. The only way to effectively address this growing risk is to strategically build remote stations. This would ensure that firefighters and apparatus are closer to where emergencies are most likely to occur, drastically reducing response times, and ensuring that our fire department can handle multiple, simultaneous calls with sufficient manpower. Ultimately, a multi-station model is essential to providing the level of service our community expects and deserves.

" it is important to underscore that CFS' growth has not kept pace with the rapid expansion of the community. As one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Alberta, CFS must align its resources to meet the heightened demands and responsibilities they face." - TSI Fire Services Master Plan - 2023

Cochrane currently has no response standards to achieve; removing any qualifying metric to measure against to see if appropriate service levels are being delivered in the appropriate timeframes. 

From the TSI Fire Services Master Plan: 

"Of note, there are no response time or effective response force standards or metrics included in the current Level of Service document. While this may create flexibility in how CFS is staffed, it does not provide clarity or accountability on how quickly services are provided, and by how many responders. This affects many areas, including the efficiency and effectiveness of response, accountability of performance and the interpretation on the NBC-AB 10-minute building codes"