Despite exceeding the industry benchmark in travel time, the Regina fire department lags behind in alarm handling and turnout time. As such,the Regina fire department is working to improve its response times.
“The key is to be able to get a quick early response to those high hazards that are in the community, or to properties that could potentially pose a risk to the community,” said Gerard Kay, deputy chief of Regina Fire & Protective Services.
It can take the Regina fire department up to 32 seconds longer for turnout compared to the North American standard of 1 minute 20 seconds.
Travel time is where Regina fire crews do well. The standard is 6 minutes 20 seconds, but firefighters here are able to reach their destination in 6 minutes 90 per cent of the time.
In Saskatoon, fire crews take an average of 3 minutes 14 seconds to drive from the station to their destination.
Get daily National news
Of the three fire departments, the one in Saskatoon has the quickest travel time, despite being in the largest city. something their assistant chief said is no easy feat.
“To have a 60 second reaction to be able to get dressed, get on the apparatus and out, that takes a lot of dedication and a desire to be able to do that continually,” said acting fire chief Dan Paulsen from Saskatoon Fire & Protective Services.
Here in regina, the fire department is taking a look at its own response times.
And as the city continues to grow, so too will the challenge of getting to those hotspots in time.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.