A report delivered by Fire Chief Steve Molloy to the Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday night provided some interesting facts about resources at Thompson Fire and Emergency Services.

Molloy’s report showed that while fire calls in 2023 were down 6 per cent from 2022, EMS calls were up almost 7 per cent and the number of double trips increased almost 15 per cent.

Double trips or calls means two or more ambulances are being used at the same time.

Mayor Colleen Smook explains the impact of that.

“TFES normally has two ambulances available to respond immediately. The issue then is that those two ambulances are out and there isn’t the staffing for the third ambulance until we call extra people in. This is why, with the number of calls increasing all the time, we’ve definitely been advocating with Shared Health.”  

Smook says besides trying to get more ambulances and personnel through Shared Health, other aspects such as housing and recruitment and retention are important factors in getting the resources Thompson needs.