The City of Airdrie held its first Community Safety and Social Services Standing Committee meeting on April 9.
Three council members, Coun. Candice Kolson, Coun. Heather Spearman, and Coun. Darrell Belyk, are voting members of the committee with two citizen members to be added at a later date. Mayor Peter Brown is an ex-officio voting member of all new committees.
Airdrie Fire Department (AFD) Fire Chief Mike Pirie provided an update to council.
He said AFD’s new station, the Highland Park Fire Station and Training Centre, is scheduled to open in November 2026. This station will incorporate the first firefighter training centre in Airdrie and convert into the city's primary Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) when needed.
“The project manager is in place and this week, on Friday, is the next step," Pirie said. "We start working on our schematic designs and contract management. I’m happy to report, although it’s early, that we’re on track with the plan that’s put in place.”
Pirie also reported there were several technology replacements and improvements, including the move to the AFFRCS radio system. The project is on time and on budget, and Pirie expects to have training done over the next month before transitioning to the new system.
Four new firefighters joined the crews on April 2, taking AFD to a total of 72 fire fighters.
Pirie said the new recruits are currently in their second week of training and have seven more to go.
AFD will increase their minimum on duty staffing level from 12 to 13 in June, which Pirie said is a significant step for AFD and the City.
AFD is a full-time department with 81 staff members consisting of four chief officers, support staff, and firefighters.
“I think the key message I would like to get across with this point is that 94 per cent of our staff are direct, forward facing interaction with our customer,” Pirie said. “We’re very focused on that point-of-contact decision making.”
AFD deploys from three stations, including the Veterans, Kings Heights, and Chinook Winds stations.
Events and the Alberta safety code
Mayor Peter Brown commented that people hosting events throughout the community have faced obstacles in the last six months related to more stringent fire code rules they hadn't faced previously.
While there hasn’t been a change to the fire code in the last year, Pirie explained they have more fire prevention officers doing inspections. He said in some cases, things were missed previously that now appeared as a new rule.
“We are trying to sometimes do very modern things in very old buildings, it’s not a new topic and it’s not isolated to Airdrie,” Pirie said. “Building code changes can cause problems, absolutely, and if they go missed for several years it can give the appearance of acceptance, and that’s just not the case.”
Airdrie’s director of community growth and protective services, Kevin Weinberger, said they are working with businesses and local venues to ensure the best and safest experience while laying out their options.
Pirie then added the provincial safety code was also changed to be more discretionary, which is not helpful in how rules are interpreted.
