City concerned about EMS response, code reds, and Fire-Rescue reliance

The City of Cold Lake is casting a cautious eye on local trends relating to response times for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the community.

The City is also concerned about an increasing reliance on Cold Lake Fire-Rescue to respond to incidents requiring medical first responders and to provide operational assistance to EMS crews. 

Based on the calls being received by the City, there is a continued concern over code reds – which refers to time periods where no ambulances are available in the community. 

Trends also show increasing response times with ambulances to Cold Lake being dispatched from other communities such as the Town of Bonnyville, the Town of St. Paul, and even the Town of Elk Point.

“The trends we are seeing are worrying, and we are making every effort to understand the level of service we ought to be provided, the level of service we are receiving, and whether there is a substantial gap between the two,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. 

“There is certainly a perception that a significant service gap exists and that it’s been growing larger, and people are becoming very concerned. The data we have access to supports this as well, and so it’s something we need to take seriously and have a thorough look at.”

During Council’s meeting on April 15, 2025, Council was briefed by its administration that in the first three months of 2025, Cold Lake Fire-Rescue has had to respond to 21 medical related requests for assistance. This pace indicates that 2025 could be another record year over the 58 such calls the service responded to in 2024.

Added strain on Fire-Rescue

The Cold Lake Ambulance Society was replaced by an AHS contractor in 2022. As of April 1, 2025, EMS services throughout Alberta are now managed through Acute Care Alberta.

Cold Lake has been eying reports of increased EMS response times to motor vehicle collisions as well as medical emergency calls where Cold Lake Fire-Rescue is dispatched because an ambulance is not available locally. 

Based on call records, ambulances are being dispatched from as far away as St. Paul and Elk Point to head for Cold Lake with increasing frequency.

Cold Lake Fire-Rescue members already respond to most vehicle collisions, but are also being requested to help at the scene of medical emergencies. Some of these requests are to lift patients into and out of ambulances, to lift a patient out of a challenging space, to provide an extra set of hands to assist EMS staff, or simply to provide first aid and comfort in place until EMS staff are able to arrive at the scene. 

While Fire-Rescue crews have always stood ready to assist other first responders, the increasing frequency which they are being called upon to respond to medical emergencies and assist EMS crews suggest that EMS could be short staffed.

“Administration shared several detailed examples of such calls that are very concerning,” Copeland said. 

“We need to find out if the contractors can’t find the staff they need, if the funding they are being provided is inadequate, or if this is simply the level of service that the province is happy providing us up here. Our residents are calling 911 and wondering how long an ambulance will take to get to them – or if there’s even an ambulance close to the City to respond. We’ve noticed that our firefighters are being asked to help more often, and while they are happy to help, we need to ask if we are picking up the slack here.”

More to come

Cold Lake City Council viewed statistics and financial reports that were made available to the City, as well as those which were collected locally. The City of Cold Lake has had a difficult time collecting relevant healthcare statistics from Alberta Health Services related to EMS. The City will be reaching out to Acute Care Alberta to learn more about the services levels to be expected and those being delivered.

The City of Cold Lake’s administration also noted that AHS has prevented municipalities from billing when fire crews are requested to respond or assist with a response, effectively downloading a share of the cost of medical first response to the City of Cold Lake.

Council directed administration to research the issue and to look into the City’s ability to bill the province for the provision of services when Cold Lake Fire-Rescue is called upon in certain instances by EMS.