The more efficiently emergency departments are able to communicate and coordinate rescue efforts as well as disaster responses, the better the outcomes will be for Albertans everywhere.
Although cliché, seconds truly do matter when lives are hanging in the balance.
So we should all be glad about the new Alberta First Responder Radio Communications System (AFRRCS). It's a two-way radio network for first responders in municipal, provincial as well as First Nations agencies throughout the province that was funded and built by the government. The system went live in the summer of 2016, and emergency departments with the means to upgrade have since then been deploying the new radio equipment.
However, there is a cost involved for each agency that wants to upgrade, and not all have been able to find the dollars in their budgets in as timely a manner as some.
Earlier this month, the Sundre Fire Department was able to go live with AFRRCS, bringing all the five fire departments within Mountain View County onto the same page.
Although there has been something of a learning curve adapting to the new system, fire Chief Marty Butts is confident and optimistic that enhanced communications and coordination among agencies will improve response times and subsequently, outcomes.
In the event of another Fort Mac or Slave Lake disaster, the last thing we need is for confusion to stem from outdated or antiquated communications that leave one or more departments hesitating or uncertain of where to deploy resources and firefighters as a result of an inadequate ability to collaborate.
So we applaud the local as well as neighbouring fire departments’ efforts to ensure they’re connected to the new network, and hope that those who have not yet been able to upgrade will be able to find the financing to do so sooner rather than later.
If those departments on tighter budgets and their municipal councils are not able to conjure up the required funding to obtain the new hardware, perhaps the provincial government could consider increasing available grants.
After all, the previous Conservative provincial government already funded the construction of the network of towers which was completed under Notley's NDP administration. But what good is the new system if there are departments that cannot even afford to use it?
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
