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November 8, 2024 November 8, 2024

Picture Butte Emergency Services 2024 update

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Sunny South News

By Cal Braid
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Picture Butte Emergency Services had a busy 2024. Its primary coverage area for fire response spans 1100 sq. kilometres in the northeast portion of Lethbridge County. The area includes the Town of Picture Butte and the hamlets of Shaughnessy, Iron Springs, and Turin. Its backup coverage area is the entire remainder of Lethbridge County including Coaldale, Coalhurst, and Nobleford. Additionally, the ambulance unit covers the north half of Lethbridge County and responds into neighbouring counties and the City of Lethbridge on a regular basis.

 Fire Chief Frank West gave a rundown of the PBES activities over the course of the year, and for a department that operates out of a small town of about 2,000, it was anything but a sleepy year.

 “We responded to 809 emergency events,” West said. “That includes 647 EMS calls, 31 first medical responses, 34 motor vehicle collisions, 39 fires, 34 fire alarms, 21 service calls, and three rescue calls.”

 West noted a few major events that kept them on their toes: In January, a large bale stack fire broke out in Lethbridge County during -30 degree weather and crews were on scene for 20 hours. Additionally, up at Keho Lake, a PB firefighter along with a Nobleford firefighter swam 1000-feet in frigid cold water to rescue a victim from an overturned watercraft. And down in Coaldale the department sent two crews to assist with the large fire at the recycling plant last summer.

 The department expects its new firefighter recruits to join in October, putting the current roster at 25 volunteer firefighters. Four full-time paramedics and the chief are the primary employees.

 PBES currently has all the equipment that’s required to operate functionally. “Our latest additions being two additional cardiac monitors and a Zoll AutoPulse CPR device,” West said. “This equipment was grant funded and purchased with donations from the Picture Butte Firefighters Association and the North County Health Foundation.”

 He said the Picture Butte Firefighters Association holds at least one fundraiser per year with its annual Valentines Firefighters Ball ongoing for the last 60 years. The department is jointly funded by the Town of Picture Butte and a funding agreement with Lethbridge County.

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