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Cranbrook, BC (February 10, 2025) – Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services (CF&ES) responded to 2,431 calls for service over the course of 2024, an increase of 5.9% from the total number of calls in 2023. This is in stark contrast to the previous year’s growth of nearly 36% over 2022. 

“We are happy to see the reduction in call growth in our community,” notes Scott Driver, Director of Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services. “I continue to be really proud of the work that our Firefighters do over the course of a year, and I am thankful to be reporting that call numbers appear to have stabilized as we begin 2025.”

There were 522 calls for service in the last quarter of 2024 compared to 687 in the previous three-month period (July-Sept). 36% of the calls for service were for fire/rescue related incidents, with 64% of those calls for pre-hospital care. The geographic distribution of those calls across our response area remains consistent with higher call volumes in and around the older/higher density areas of our community and the highway corridor. 

The fourth quarter of 2024 included 6 structure fires, 24 forest interface events, 24 motor vehicle incidents and 71 alarm activations. Pre-hospital care calls included 71 calls for breathing problems, 48 chest pains, 30 overdoses, 17 cardiac arrests and 21 seizures. 

Most notably, there were significant decreases in persons down and overdose responses (28% and 60% decreases respectively), something we have not seen in a few years. This decrease in overdose responses is well above the 13 per cent decrease provincially in 2024 compared to 2023, according to a report from the BC Coroner’s Service last week. 

The reduced workload on the City’s first responders also reduces stress on staff and costs to taxpayers, while creating opportunities for the department to conduct more fire inspections around the community, and for firefighters to undergo important training.

“It is certainly worth highlighting when I see a community group, or groups, having a positive impact on citizen well-being in our community. I have seen significant improvements in the coordination of our homeless outreach programs, and this is reflective in the drop in number of calls we receive that can be correlated with homelessness,” says Driver. “In 2023, we responded to 85 nuisance campfires, and in 2024 there were just 33. This is a 61% drop in just one year, and I believe this improvement can be directly related to the homeless population support work that is being completed by the many local organizations that are part of the Mayor’s Taskforce on Homelessness.”  

“The collaboration between the Mayor’s Task Force and service providers, in the development of a safe and stable outdoor living space, has allowed consistent outreach that encourages engagement with vulnerable populations and strengthens capacity for fire-safety strategies,” says Marcel Germer, Social Development Coordinator“ Improvements such as emergency cold weather housing, safer tent heating options, available fire suppression, and fire prevention education that is being delivered by our partners in community has made a significant difference. The Task Force has also collaborated with local service providers to reduce risk due to substance use, providing real time interventions and building capacity within the homeless community to respond to emergencies.”  

These initiatives, strategized at the Task Force table and implemented by community partners, appear to be improving living conditions for those without established housing, and for our emergency services.