Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) has seen the volume of calls for service grow in recent years. A majority of those calls are for medical incidents.
This is a challenge the city’s new fire chief, David Lazenby, is trying to navigate, all while making sure the service keeps up with city growth.
“We’ve got over a million people to protect and we want to do it to the best of our abilities. We’re very proud of what we do and we need to give our people what they need,” said Lazenby.
Lazenby replaced former chief Joe Zatylny, who announced his resignation in May 2024 after nearly four years as Edmonton’s fire chief. Lazenby was the interim chief after Zatylny left the role, before stepping into the permanent role on Jan. 2, 2025.
“I’ve worked in six fire services in my career and this is the most challenging city for someone to be a first responder in, for a whole variety of reasons. I have the utmost respect for all our first responders here,” said Lazenby.
Lazenby is now in charge of nearly 1,200 firefighters and 30 stations in our city. He says since 2020, the service’s call volume has gone up 60 per cent.
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“Firefighters do so much and I think the big thing to understand, when people don’t know who to call, they call us,” Lazenby said.
On top of their normal fire calls, firefighters also respond to a broad scope of incidents. Calls include ice and water rescue, medical incidents and more.
Lazenby says overdose calls have increased by 270 per cent in the past four years.
“You can imagine the toll that takes, both in terms of responding to all the extra calls. But also the impact to the human beings that are responding to those calls, seeing the tragedy and the loss they’re seeing on a daily basis,” said Lazenby.
“Sadly we’ve attended funerals where people who have passed, taken their lives and things like that. Those things weigh heavy on me. I want to make sure that we protect our people so that they can protect Edmontonians. I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”
That’s why one of the chief’s main priorities is to make sure first responders get the support they need.
Lazenby says recruitment is doing well for the service and they see plenty of interested people. He also recognizes how important it is to grow the service in the next few years.
“Edmonton has grand aspirations around the population size that it wants to become. We have to be very mindful of that and ensure that we, as a fire service, grow at a similar pace to ensure that we protect all Edmontonians equally,” he said.
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