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Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services Chief Greg Adair. (Photo: City of Lethbridge)

Year in Review: Greg Adair, Lethbridge Fire Chief

Jan 5, 2024 | 5:20 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services (LFES) had a busy 2023.

LFES Chief Greg Adair spoke with Lethbridge News Now about how the year was for the organization. Adair said the year continued the trend of increased activity.

He explained, “Our call volume continues to increase from the EMS side of our business as well as the fire side. Our men and women continue to respond professionally and responsibly to this increasing number of calls.”

Adair highlighted that 2023 saw a record number of fires in the city, with some such as the Lethbridge Hotel fire in February requiring a lot of effort from crews, and drawing a lot of attention.

He also acknowledged the heavy workload of the EMS crews, “The drug crisis and homeless still impact our call volumes, and certainly a lot of work is underway to try to help navigate those challenges and we hope that we’ll see positive results in the coming years.”

Despite the heavy workloads LFES faced in 2023, Adair had high praise for his colleagues and how well they handled the challenges that the year presented.

“All of the success we’re seeing is kudos to the men and women who continue to go out there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and deal with the crises that comes forward.”

Adair added that LFES received accreditation with commendation from Accreditation Canada for the EMS work they do, and he also praised the Cardiac Survivability Program, a homegrown approach to effective CPR, “We’re seeing some of the highest success rates in not only Alberta, but in the whole country.”

LFES also saw two new 12-hour ambulances come in from Alberta Health Services to help deal with the high call volumes, and Fire station 3 will soon be relocated.

Heading into 2024, Adair spoke about areas of focus he and LFES will be prioritizing. He said, “One of the things we will continue to strive to work on is ensuring the mental health and wellness of the first responders. A significant amount of work will continue and work on expanding that.”

Adair added, “Our goal is to keep our first responders who are out dealing with crisis healthy, so a lot of time and energy will be devoted to that in 2024.”

LFES is also looking to continue to improve recruitment, which Adair adds will be aided by the new Recruitment Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan, which will roll out in 2024.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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