Call volume already up and Edmonton fire crews to take on more in 2019

2018 will go down in the books as a busy one for Edmonton Fire Rescue.

By the end of this year, Chief Ken Block said his crews will have responded to more than 53,000 calls — that’s up nearly 3,000 calls from 2017.

Most are medical but about 1,000 of the calls were actual fires.

“That’s a lot,” Block said.

“As our city expands outward, that’s where the challenge is.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "As our city expands outward, that's where the challenge is."

That expansion will start as early as Jan. 1, 2019.

The city is taking on about nine hectares of land in Leduc County.

READ MORE: Edmonton and Leduc County sign annexation agreement

The boundary right now limits city calls to 41 Avenue S.W., but come the new year, the new city boundary will expand to the northern edge of the Edmonton International Airport.

Most of the area is farmland and undeveloped.

Block said there are not a lot of extra residents to look after, but there is a lot of unhydrated land.

“We are meeting that need through an additional tanker and crew.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are meeting that need through an additional tanker and crew."

Edmonton firefighters won’t be forced to go it alone. Leduc County Fire Services will continue to provide coverage if its trucks and crews are closer.

“If they do decide their crews are busy… they’ll call us,” said Leduc County Fire Services Chief Keven Lefebvre.

Watch below: Because of annexation and population growth, Edmonton firefighters are responding to an increasing number of fires. Kendra Slugoski reports.

1:49 Edmonton fire chief says he expects crews to take on more calls in 2019

The fire chiefs have been meeting since the talk of annexation surfaced and Lefebvre said the transition will not leave current county residents (soon to become City of Edmonton residents) high and dry.

“They’ve (Edmonton Fire Rescue) made a commitment to maintain at least the current level of service or even better if they can.”

Block said new stations in the south would also lessen the pressure. The Windermere station is slated to break ground this spring — about a year behind schedule.

READ MORE: New southwest Edmonton fire station is 1 year behind schedule: chief

Block said his next priority is getting a station built in Charlesworth in the southeast. The area is south of Ellerslie Road and east of 50 Street.

“It’s going to become more challenging with the constrained economic environment we’re in,” Block said.

“I don’t expect three or four new stations over the next four or five years.”