Nearly Half of Banff Fire’s Calls Are Now Medical as Total Responses Rise

The Banff Fire Department is responding to more emergencies than it did a year ago, and an increasing share of those calls are medical rather than fire-related.

As of Nov. 21, 2025, the department had handled 710 calls for service, up from 685 over the same period in 2024, an increase of about 7%, according to figures presented to council as part of the town’s 2026 Fire Services review.

Roughly 45% of those calls were medical co-responses, placing a significant portion of the department’s workload in frontline medical and trauma response rather than traditional fire suppression.

The figures were presented by Katherine Severson, Banff’s Director of Emergency and Protective Services, who outlined both the rising volume and the changing nature of the department’s work.

In addition to structure fires and wildland incidents, Banff Fire routinely responds to medical emergencies, motor vehicle collisions and other trauma calls, often alongside Alberta Health Services and the RCMP. The review noted that medical calls now represent the single largest category of responses.

Severson told council the department has adapted by expanding medical training. Chief officers are trained to at least the Medical First Responder or Emergency Medical Responder level and registered with the Alberta College of Paramedics where applicable. All firefighters maintain health-care provider first aid certification, with some trained to higher clinical levels.

But the shift toward medical response is occurring within a staffing model still built largely around paid-on-call members. Banff Fire operates with a core of full-time staff and approximately 30 paid-on-call firefighters who respond from home or work when emergencies occur.

During the presentation, Severson noted that the call volume includes responses not only within the Town of Banff but also in Improvement District 9, including Lake Louise and parts of the Icefields Parkway, and in some cases Kootenay National Park, reflecting the department’s regional role and adding to overall demand.

While council did not specifically debate the year-over-year increase in call volume or the growing share of medical responses, Severson linked the evolving nature of the department’s workload to concerns about member health and capacity. She told councillors that paid-on-call firefighters routinely respond to “very significant and traumatic events,” and that both the physical and mental health impacts of that work were a central issue raised by members through satisfaction surveys and direct feedback.

That context formed the basis for a separate request later in the meeting to enhance benefits for paid-on-call firefighters, including expanded life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and an increased health spending account. Severson said the proposal was intended to better support members whose roles increasingly resemble those of frontline medical and trauma responders, not only traditional fire suppression.

Council ultimately approved the benefits changes, signalling institutional recognition that both the volume of calls and the medical complexity of the department’s work are rising, and that the support systems for the firefighters who respond to those emergencies will need to evolve accordingly.