Alberta Professional Fire Fighters & Paramedics Association

05/18/2026

⚠️ We have heard the promise before.

In 2009, the Province took over EMS and placed ambulance service under the healthcare umbrella. Communities were told there would be no degradation of service.

But in St. Albert, response times changed.

Before the provincial takeover, St. Albert’s benchmark was 9 minutes, 90% of the time, a standard our crews frequently met or exceeded.

After the takeover, the St. Albert Gazette reported ambulances were responding within 15 minutes, 90% of the time.

That is a 6-minute increase when seconds matter most.

Mayor Nolan Crouse called it “unacceptable” and questioned why St. Albert should accept worse service after being told it would not get worse.

Now, with ALTA Paramedic Health asking municipalities to trust that there will be no disruption or degradation of service if they exit EMS, residents deserve answers.

If St. Albert gives up its ambulances, who picks up those calls?

Are we supposed to believe it will be different this time?

St. Albert’s integrated fire and EMS model means local ambulances, local accountability, and crews dedicated to this community.

Once those ambulances are gone, there may be no getting them back.

🚒🚑 Keep St. Albert integrated.❤️ Keep public safety first.

Source: St. Albert Gazette, “Ambulance response times jump,” Jan. 27, 2012.

EMS

05/15/2026

05/13/2026

Last night, City Council made the difficult decision to move away from Spruce Grove’s integrated Fire EMS service model.

For more than 20 years, dual trained professionals have responded to fires, medical emergencies, rescues, and critical incidents as part of a coordinated emergency service model in our community.

While this decision marks the beginning of a significant transition, our commitment to serving Spruce Grove remains unchanged.

Most importantly, we want to sincerely thank the residents of Spruce Grove for the overwhelming support shown throughout this process. Your messages, advocacy, attendance at meetings, and continued support have meant more than words can express.

We will continue to serve this community with professionalism, compassion, and pride while advocating for sustainable emergency services moving forward.

05/13/2026

At City Hall late Tuesday, we heard that Council has received hundreds of calls and emails from community members, stating they want our integrated service to stay, and are willing to pay more taxes to continue to have fire trucks and ambulances protect our community. Council has never seen the people of Lethbridge so engaged on an issue. We want to thank you for all your support over the past 60 days, and for telling council loud and clear that you believe in public safety and you know Cost Cutting will Cost Lives.

And yet, when it came time to vote to maintain our century-old Integrated Fire & EMS service, Council voted to reject the EHS funding offer. Simply put, we believe this puts our service at its greatest risk in our 114-year history.

Council says this vote is not a decision to walk away from our integrated Fire & EMS service. They said yesterday our integrated service isn’t going anywhere. They say the City is hopeful the Province and EHS will circle back with options that could allow Lethbridge to keep our integrated model.

It must be noted, that on the same day Lethbridge City Council rejected the provincial EMS contract conditions, the city councils in Strathcona County and Red Deer listened to their communities and voted to protect their life-saving integrated systems. Our City Council has done the opposite and voted to put our system, and your safety, in jeopardy.

We are disappointed, we are frustrated, and most importantly, we’re worried about you and your safety. We heard yesterday that despite their vote, council does want to maintain North America’s longest-standing integrated Fire & EMS service. We’ve been doing this work for the last 114 years and we want to continue saving lives for the next century. We’re not out of this fight yet and as the clock ticks down to the May 31 deadline, we will continue to keep you updated and do everything in our power to save our life-saving system.

05/13/2026

A huge thank you to the Red Deer City Council and City Administration for their unwavering advocacy and commitment to the safety of our community!

Because of this continued support, our teams are better equipped to provide high-quality emergency medical services and fire protection to the citizens of Red Deer and ensure the health and well-being of our city remains a top priority.

We are proud to serve this community every day.

Cindy Jefferies for Mayor - Red Deer
Jaelene Tweedle for Red Deer City Council
Dianne Wyntjes for Red Deer City Council
Adam Goodwin Red Deer City Councillor
Cassandra Curtis - Red Deer City Councillor
Tristin Brisbois 4 RD Council
Chad Krahn - Red Deer City Councillor
Kraymer Barnstable - Red Deer City Councillor
Bruce Buruma

05/13/2026

Through countless stories, messages of support, and shared experiences highlighting the professionalism, compassion, and excellence of care provided by your Strathcona Firefighter/Paramedics, our community has made a powerful difference.

From the hundreds who showed up at the BBQ and pancake breakfast, to everyone who wrote, called, shared, spoke up, and stood beside us, thank you.

Our community spoke loud and clear, and we are grateful that Council listened and voted to continue our proud legacy as a world-class Integrated Fire and EMS service.

We are honoured to serve Strathcona County. We are proud of the trust you place in us, and even prouder that we will continue to be there for you in your homes, on your roads, in your most difficult moments, and throughout the community we all care so deeply about.

Thank you, Strathcona.

With gratitude,
Your Strathcona Firefighter/Paramedics

05/10/2026

Today, we recognize and celebrate the mothers across our communities.

To the moms serving on the front lines, supporting their families through shift work, missed holidays, late nights, and early mornings, Thank You!

We also recognize the mothers supporting loved ones behind the scenes. The ones holding things together at home while others answer the call to serve.

Your strength, care, sacrifice, and support do not go unnoticed.

On behalf of the Alberta Professional Fire Fighters & Paramedics Association, we wish all mothers a safe, joy-filled, and meaningful Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day. 💐

05/10/2026

05/10/2026

What happens when an already strained EMS system loses 10 ambulances?

That’s the question our region needs answered.

Across the Metro Edmonton region, integrated fire/EMS departments are currently responding to thousands of calls both inside and outside their own communities. In St. Albert alone, ambulances already spend roughly 40% of their time outside city limits helping cover regional demand.

At the same time, the average response time to life-threatening emergencies in the Metro Edmonton region is already approximately 15 minutes — while the target is 12 minutes.

Now, provincial funding changes are putting some of the region’s most reliable ambulances at risk.

The Province reviewed EMS funding and lowered the funding benchmark it is willing to provide to integrated services. As a result, municipalities are now being asked to absorb more of the cost to keep ambulances operating.

These are not spare ambulances sitting unused. These are some of the most consistently staffed and dependable EMS resources in the region — units that respond every day both in their own communities and across municipal boundaries when the regional system is overwhelmed.

If these ambulances are removed from service due to provincial funding changes, the emergencies will not disappear.

The calls will still come.
The pressure on the EMS system will remain.
The only question is:

Who is picking up these calls when the system is already struggling to meet response targets?

Residents deserve clear answers before decisions are made that could further strain emergency medical response across the entire Metro Edmonton region.