Kamloops firefighters practicing CPR on a dummy. (Photo via Kamloops Fire and Rescue)
Kamloops City Council has unanimously voted to support the City of Prince George’s ask that the B.C. Government cover the cost of medical calls attended by firefighters.
The Northern B.C. city will be tabling that resolution at the Union of BC Municipalities Convention next month in Vancouver.
In its resolution, the City of Prince George wants the province to “develop a funding model to compensate local governments who provide emergency medical services through their fire and rescue services fulfilling the responsibility of the provincial government with consideration given to community population and the fire department’s authorized level of emergency medical response.”
Kamloops Councillor Kelly Hall, who tabled a Notice of Motion asking for a letter of support, said more than 60 per cent of calls attended by Kamloops Fire and Rescue involve medical emergencies.
“Talking with Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc as well as Deputy Ryan Cail, the support that they gave unanimous,” Hall said Tuesday. “Mostly because 63 per cent of the calls are medical service calls within the community. “The fact that the provincial government is not reimbursing us is a burden on the taxpayer here in Kamloops.”
“At first I wanted to try and get it in line so that we could piggy back with Prince George, but we ran out of time. So, with the advisement from Legislative Services, they suggested I put a letter [of support] together.”
Kamloops Fire and Rescue is coming off its busiest year ever in 2022, with crews responding to over 10,325 calls for service. That’s an almost 32 per cent increase compared to 2021.
“A large part of this increase is due to a significant jump in the number of medical calls that KFR responded to,” Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc said, in his annual report. “In 2022, medical calls increased by 43 per cent over 2021 and accounted for 63 per cent of all calls we responded to – a total of 6,522 responses.”
“These increases, along with the other emergency responses and services KFR provides, have put a strain on our system to meet the increasing workload demands of our growing communities and a population of over 100,000 citizens.”
Broken down further, Uzeloc said calls for “person down”, “unconscious”, and “overdose/poisoning” in 2022 increased by 26 per cent, 52 per cent, and 21 per cent respectively.
New data from Kamloops Fire and Rescue shows an increase in call volumes through the first three months of 2023. Total call volume was up 16.9 per cent, with medical calls up 20.5 per cent over 2022.
A snapshot of Kamloops Fire and Rescue calls for service in the first three months of 2023. (Photo via KFR)
The 2023 UBCM Convention is scheduled to take place between Sept. 18 and 22 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
