North Battleford Fire Department. (File photo/City of North Battleford)

By Kenneth Cheung

MEETING PREVIEW

North Battleford eyes policy to let city staff double as firefighters

Sep 5, 2025 | 1:21 PM

Facing a shortage of paid-on-call firefighters, the City of North Battleford is turning to its own workforce as a possible fix.

City council will vote Monday, Sept. 8, on a proposal that would let ‘out-of-scope’ staff volunteer with the fire department while keeping their regular jobs.

The move comes as the city struggles to fill its roster of part-time firefighters. North Battleford’s composite department has 12 full-time members but only nine paid-on-call firefighters, well short of the 15 allowed.

“The city has experienced diminished responses for our recruitment efforts over the past few years which is a growing problem for many communities across Canada,” administration noted in its report.

It also pointed out that industry groups like the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and International Association of Fire and Rescue Services have flagged shrinking volunteer numbers due to increasing demands on people’s time, rigorous training, and more dual-income households.

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Under the policy, city staff approved to join the service could respond to fire calls during work hours without losing pay or benefits, though safeguards are included to prevent ‘double-dipping’ by receiving two forms of compensation for the same hours.

The report also noted there is no budget issue, meaning the change would not carry new costs for taxpayers.

If approved, the policy would be reviewed after a year to determine whether it is helping fill gaps in emergency response capacity.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com