North Battleford Fire Department is no longer going to be responding to rescue emergencies outside the city of North Battleford or the RM of North Battleford.
This is effective Dec. 31. As of that date NBFD will no longer respond to rescue emergencies for the following areas: RM of Battle River, RM of Mayfield, RM of Cut Knife, RM of Meota, Red Pheasant Cree Nation, Moosomin First Nation, Sweetgrass Cree Nation, resort village of Aquadeo, resort village of Cochin, village of Meota, town of Cut Knife and the town of Battleford.
All those areas had previously been covered by agreements with NBFD for emergencies. According to the City, the fire department had met with rescue services stakeholders to explore the possibility of modifications to original agreements in order to reach a balance for cost recovery.
But a proposal was not widely accepted, according to NBFD chief, Albert Headrick.
"We considered our proposal to be a fair and equitable compromise in order to maintain services presently provided and not to be continually subsidized by the ratepayers of North Battleford. The proposal was reasonable, recognized and appreciated, but not acceptable to the majority," said Headrick in a statement Friday.
The fire chief indicated the majority of stakeholders felt rescue services for provincial corridors was the responsibility of the Saskatchewan Government and should not be the responsibility of their ratepayers.
The 911 dispatch, RCMP, EMS and the Office of the Fire Commissioner have all been advised of the changeover. As well, alternative service providers are being explored by 911 in Prince Albert dispatch for the affected areas.
Fire Chief Headrick has stressed there is a difference between rescue services and fire protection services. While the department has scaled back on rescue services, that does not mean that if an outlying community has a fire emergency that they can't handle and ask for help that North Battleford will not respond.
