Fire chief warns more funding needed to meet response times

Calgary's fire chief warned city council to brace for big demands when his department submits its budget request.

Bruce Burrell said the fire department needs money to hire more firefighters, buy more and newer equipment, and build more fire halls. He said the service falls short of national benchmarks in almost every category.

'We're not asking to be best in class. We're not asking to be No. 1 in Canada. We just want to be average.' —Bruce Burrell, Calgary fire chief

Half of the department's aerial and pumper trucks have exceeded their life cycle, meaning they are more costly to keep on the road.

"We're not asking to be third class. We're not asking to be best in class. We're not asking to be No. 1 in Canada," he said Wednesday. "We just want to be average and we believe that's what makes this proposal affordable in the long term for the City of Calgary."

Burrell told a city hall committee Wednesday that council can either approve a substantial increase in the fire department's budget or accept reduced service.

The national benchmark for response times is six minutes, while Calgary's average time is six minutes and 23 seconds, an increase of 19 seconds from the year before.

Burrell said a few seconds mean a lot when it comes to saving lives and fighting fires. He blames a growing city, with traffic congestion and urban sprawl, for the slower response times.

The mayor will ask council to increase the budgets for all three emergency services later this month.