Future of Lethbridge’s integrated Fire&EMS system remains uncertain

The future of our city’s integrated Fire and Emergency Medical Service is still very much up in the air. City officials say rising labour costs remain a major hurdle in efforts to preserve the integrated system.

In Lethbridge, firefighter/paramedics are cross-trained and paid a firefighters wage which is more than the provincial paramedic rate.

The mayor says the city has completed a financial analysis and the current model can only survive with significant salary reductions for Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services members. Something the union says will not fly.

Alta Paramedic Health, formerly Emergency Health Services Alberta, has told the city it will not entertain negotiations on the integrated model, and will move directly to a request-for-proposal process after May 31.