WATCH ABOVE: Right alongside police, Edmonton firefighters and EMS rushed to the shooting scene Monday night. As Tom Vernon reports, they too are feeling the loss.
EDMONTON – Members of the Edmonton Police Service were not alone Monday night as a shooter opened fire on responding officers, killing EPS Const. Daniel Woodall and injuring Sgt. Jason Harley.
Upwards of 50 firefighters and several EMS personnel were also called to the crime scene. The west Edmonton home was on fire, but with a shooter inside, emergency crews couldn’t respond as they usually would.
“It’s very difficult with professionals who, what they do is intervene in fire events,” said Edmonton Fire Chief Ken Block. “You have to prioritize things. The priority was that the fire is going to wait for a period of time … First responder safety has got to take precedence.
“(It’s a) very difficult situation for them to have to hold back knowing that our EPS brothers are under fire.”
Block says crews held back. Instead of rushing to the fire as they normally would, firefighters arrived on scene, set up a staging area and kept in close communication with the EPS. Responding paramedics took a similar approach to the dangerous situation, with a tactical EMS crew also responding.
“When we indicate that there’s a dangerous scene through the dispatch process, from the information that police give us, we stage our crews at a safe distance so we allow police to do their work,” said Dale Weiss, Edmonton Zone’s executive director of EMS.
WATCH: Immeasurable EPS tragedy elicits strong emotions from leaders
Both organizations say it was tense for all members involved and assistance is readily available as they deal with the aftermath of the tragedy.
“The impact of an emergency responder losing their life is an impact to all of them, whether it be EMS, fire or police,” said Weiss. “It’s challenging for each and every one. Everybody is different and we want to be very mindful of that. Everybody responds a little bit differently, but this is obviously a very high impact piece for our staff and we care a great deal for that.”
“First responders, firefighters and police officers work together every day of the week,” said Block. “They are brothers and sisters. This has a profound effect on not only the Edmonton Police Service, but on the fire service, as well. And certainly the Alberta Health Services first responders that were there.”
READ MORE: Edmonton police share impact of Const. Daniel Woodall’s killing
Woodall, 35, had been with the EPS for eight years. He is survived by his wife, Claire, and their two young boys. For more information on how the community is rallying around the Woodall family and the first responders, click here.
With files from Tom Vernon, Global News.