About
About The Fire Department
The City of Brooks Fire Department provides Emergency services to the residents of Brooks and surrounding area via contract with the County of Newell as well
as responding to highway vehicle accidents and assisting surrounding communities through mutual aid agreements. The Department responds to fires, dangerous goods incidents, vehicle & industrial accidents, technical rescue (high angle, confine space, ice & water), carbon monoxide, and other incidents such as trench rescue and livestock emergency response. The service is provided 24 hours a day - 7 days a week and is delivered by 32 volunteer firefighters and 3 full-time officers. Staff are also responsible for delivering education and promotional initiatives throughout the community as well as providing fire inspection services to approximately 140 properties including businesses, churches and schools within the City of Brooks pursuant to our Quality Management Plan. The Brooks Fire Department works closely with other enforcement agencies such as the RCMP, Alberta Health, EMS and Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA).
Staff also provides consultation and administrative support to the Newell 911 Board which is responsible for managing dispatch services for the area.
Service Vision
The Brooks Fire Department will continue to deliver our seven major services which focus on the overall safety of our residents. Regional Training grants will continue to be used for both fire services training as well as emergency management preparedness which takes place in the form of mock exercises involving all of the regional partnerships. In addition to this, we will continue to update our Newell Regional Emergency Response Plan and our Inter-Agency Water Search and Recovery Emergency Response Plan.
The Volunteers that form the Fire Department are our most valuable resource, therefore we will continue with our Volunteer Retention Program, FIREFIT competition encouragement and support, as well as providing training programs which meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
Specialized vehicles and equipment within the Fire Department enable our firefighters to respond to a variety of emergencies. In 2020 we will receive delivery of our new Rural Engine and plan to replace our Rescue Truck, which will has exceeded its recommended years of service.
The Brooks Fire Department utilizes 14 AFRRCS radios to facilitate communications now that EMS, RCMP and our mutual aid partners have transitioned to AFRRCS, it has become necessary for our department to fully transition over the next 3 years, in order to maintain communications.
In 2020 we plan to upgrade/replace our original 2008 GPS units within our emergency vehicles as their life cycle has now come to an end, these units provide fire trucks with the quickest route to the emergency scene in an effort to save a life and/or protect property and the environment.
Delivering community education programs is an important and ongoing initiative within the Fire Department. Education helps to prevent emergencies and it is our responsibility to teach prevention techniques to school children, senior citizen groups and the general public. The Fire Department will be working towards funding options that will allow us to purchase a Regional Fire Prevention trailer. This trailer will allow Fire Departments to become mobile teachers and provide a realistic learning experience by simulating real-life situations.