Lindsay Holm, chief of the North Battleford Fire Department . (file photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

CAFC

North Battleford’s fire chief to raise challenges at national conference on behalf of Saskatchewan

Sep 15, 2025 | 2:28 PM

The head of North Battleford Fire Department is preparing to put Saskatchewan’s front-line challenges – from overdoses to rising equipment costs – on the table at a national conference later this month.

Chief Lindsay Holm will represent the province at the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) Fire Rescue Canada conference in Winnipeg from Sept. 21 to 24, speaking on behalf of the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs (SAFC).

“For example, the pumper that I purchased for the City of North Battleford two years ago, the price tag on that was about $860,000. We just purchased a similar truck with very little modifications to it, and that apparatus came in at $1.6 million,” Holm said.

“So that’s a huge cost when it comes to capital investments for cities and that’s something that I am going to be bringing forward.”

Holm, who is the second vice-president of SAFC, said addiction and mental health issues are another daily reality.

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“We’re dealing with those types of issues on a daily basis,” he said. “We’re also doing a lot of extended medical calls and assisting ambulance services with those medical calls.”

He added that encampments have become an ongoing concern, particularly in larger cities, carrying both environmental risks and financial burdens.

Holm said he’ll also push for a new national fire database, modeled after the one used by police services, to help make the case for funding.

“Typically right now, each province maintains its own fire database,” he said.

“So we’d be looking to move in a similar direction as the police forces where they actually have a national police database that they can use to do statistical analysis for funding requests.”

With municipalities bearing the full cost of fire protection, Holm said he wants Ottawa to consider a new funding model.

“We’re looking at it from a very broad scope and trying to just bring some what we see as significant issues in providing service to our municipalities,” he said. “And we want to try and advance that and bring some funding opportunities to municipalities for the fire service.”

Holm added he hopes to return from the Winnipeg event with new ideas for the community.

“I’m hoping that I’ll be able to hear some good speakers while I’m there and maybe bring some new innovations back to our community that I can implement to try and provide a better fire service,” he said.

The CAFC represents more than 3,200 fire departments across Canada. Holm is attending in his role as second vice-president of the SAFC, as the president is unable to attend.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com