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Village of Airdrie
In just 100 years, Airdrie has gone from a dusty village to one of Canada's fastest growing cities. In 1890, business partners Herbert Holt, William Mackenzie, Donald Mann and James Ross formed the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company. In July of that same year, construction began on the railway in Calgary, reaching Edmonton (Strathcona) by the following summer. The future site of Airdrie made an ideal stopping point for the trains to take on water to run the steam engines. With a low alkali (salt) content, the waters of Nose Creek provided thirsty steam trains with a muchneeded drink. As this small village grew to a hamlet, town and a city, it became clear that a fire department would be needed.
1960
March 22, Airdrie town council directed staff to purchase our first fire pumper apparatus from Saskatoon Fire Equipment Co. for $8326.99
Prior to receiving our first apparatus, Airdrie had an agreement with the Village of Crossfield for fire protection for a sum of $100 per year
2009
2000
With a population of 19,165 and projected increases of six to eight per cent per year, long range emergency services planning began
A second temporary location opened on East Lake Blvd
1970
Volunteer Fire Department housed in a quonset near the water tower In 1979, serving a population of 3,879, Airdrie Emergency Services (AES) moved into a shared building at 805 Main Street with Parks, Public Works and Fleet Maintenance
1980
Airdrie city council and the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce directed staff to purchase a 1979 Ambulance from Ambucraft of Innisfail for a cost of $21,650 and began an 'integrated service' model shortly thereafter
AES has eight fulltime firefighters cross trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's)/Paramedics.
The department becomes an integrated fire/EMS model
AES is one of the first departments in Alberta to carry Advanced Life Support equipment on their fire trucks The department continued to have 20 to 30 volunteer firefighters trained and response ready
2010
July 1st Alberta Health Services (AHS) assumed responsibility for the operation of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the City of Airdrie
All medical response is provided by AHS
The department became a stand alone fire department and was no longer dispatched to medical calls
Airdrie Emergency Services (AES) is renamed Airdrie Fire Department (AFD) to better reflect the scope of responsibilities
2012
March 13th AFD headquarters is on the move
Operationally, the new fire hall at 2525 Chinook Winds Drive opens
The new fire hall houses all the speciality apparatus and is the first response truck for the growing southwest quadrant of the city
Airdrie fire halls are also renumbered to remain in alignment with the regional numbering system:
- Main Street Station changed from 57 to 87 Station
- Kings Heights Station changed from 58 to 88 Station
- Chinook Winds Station and Fire Headquarters is numbered 89 Station
Members of AES joined the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), becoming known as Airdrie Professional Firefighters Local 4778
2011
April 5th the City of Airdrie opens its first purposed building for the Fire Department: 58 Station at 2900 Kingsview Blvd SE Building will serve all residents east of the highway Temporary fire hall at East Lake Blvd is closed
May 1st medical coresponse returns to the City of Airdrie Airdrie's 52 firefighters, who are currently fully trained and registered EMT's or Paramedics, will begin medical care when they are the first to arrive onscene Firefighters also assist EMS crews to expedite treatment and get patients to the hospital faster Of 2,500 medical calls in Airdrie each year, over 700 will meet the criteria that require a coresponse from AFD
November 16th City of Red Deer 911 Emergency Communications Centre begins to provide 911 and fire dispatch services for the Airdrie Fire Department
Red Deer's dispatch software is directly compatible with AFD's, allowing information to go directly into their system, providing faster information with less chance of data errors
2013
We more than doubled our population with more than 47,000 citizens in the 2012 census
The department has 60 fulltime firefighters The department has three fire stations, all geographically positioned to optimize response to the City of Airdrie with a fourth in the works