Souris firefighters feeling the strain as medical calls jump

Firefighters in Souris say they're responding to a lot more medical calls because locally based paramedics can't handle the volume, and it's straining the northeastern P.E.I. town's resources. 

Three years ago, the fire department responded to only a dozen medical first responder calls. So far this year, that number has increased to 43 with 10 weeks still left in the year. 

Fire Chief Donnie Aitken says a fast-growing population and an increasing number of senior residents in the area add up to more medical calls.

But he says the volunteer fire department is picking up a lot more of the work because the paramedics at Island EMS can't keep up with the calls. 

"They are going full-tilt themselves, I know that, and they can't respond to every call, so they are relying on us to respond to the calls that they can't get to," said Aitken, a retired paramedic who has volunteered with the fire department for 32 years. 

As well, he said the fire department is going through a lot of medical supplies, which it has to fundraise for.

"It has an impact on everything… We get a stipend for our calls so it's costing the town more," said Aitken.

"Plus, since we are a volunteer fire department, all our members work, so if they get a call, they have to drop everything they are doing at work, run down to here, hop in the unit, go do the call. 

"It could be 20 minutes. It could be a half an hour. It could be an hour. It could be two hours. Then go back to work. Some bosses are getting a little upset with employees being gone for so long on calls — and it also puts a drain on the firefighters."

Aitken says 14 of the Souris Fire Department's 30 firefighters are trained to respond to medical calls, and two of the volunteer firefighters are themselves paramedics. 

The paramedics' base is located almost next door to the fire hall. 

Souris Mayor Jo Anne Dunphy said the increased pressure on volunteer firefighters is tied in with the lack of health-care services in the Eastern Kings region. 

The local hospital's emergency department closed in 2009. Hours have been cut back at the nearest emergency department, at Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague. And neither Souris nor Montague has a walk-in clinic. 

"It's a strain on them," Dunphy said, speaking of her town's firefighters. "They can only do so much."