Lethbridge Emergency Services Reflect On 2025

Over nan past year, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services (LFES) and nan Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) person some flooded adversity to support residents safe.

However, they person done truthful pinch much resources than successful erstwhile years.

Both forces person been adjacent afloat spot passim nan year, helping guarantee due work is fixed to nan organization and their ain members.

“This allows them nan clip disconnected they request done picnic to get distant and recharge. It besides allows them nan clip disconnected to do nan training they request to support competent and existent successful our industry,” said Greg Adair, occurrence main successful Lethbridge.

In 2025, LFES received less 911 calls, but caller and recurring dangers still kept firefighters and paramedics busy.

“We person lithium ion batteries, which is simply a caller and emerging rumor we spot from a nationalist information perspective,” said Adair. “We still person an ongoing problem pinch candles. Candles, of people near unattended, are a information concern.”

It’s thing LFES urged residents to salary attraction to — safe artillery storage.

“Please make judge you travel manufacturers recommendations connected maintaining and storing those batteries.”

Beyond occurrence safety, nan paramedic broadside of LFES saw important alteration to guarantee a stronger presence.

While LFES will stay an integrated firefighter-paramedic service, it will now statesman hiring paramedics exclusively, forgoing nan request for recruits to go firefighters if they do not wish to.

“This opens nan doorway for recruitment, retention and longevity wrong our department,” said Adair.

2025 besides saw nan rollout of nan caller tactical EMS teams who travel constabulary officers during high-risk incidents.

It wasn’t conscionable LFES benefitting from nan precocious staffing, either. LPS saw much officers helping support nan peace.

“We’ve had galore successes successful immoderate very analyzable files to really consequence successful charges and identifying nan personification responsible for it. That successful and of itself is simply a testament for erstwhile you person due resourcing,” said Shahin Mehdizadeh, main of constabulary successful Lethbridge.

In 2024, Lethbridge had nan largest driblet successful its Crime Severity Index (CSI) successful 25 years, but it doesn’t look to beryllium trending nan aforesaid measurement successful 2025.

“2024, arsenic you remember, was an epic twelvemonth for reducing crime — it was almost (19) per cent,” Mehdizadeh said. “So, nan truth it’s gone up a small spot from that, I conscionable want to opportunity it’s not a large deal, we’re managing it.”

Despite this, Mehdizadeh says galore of nan issues stem from encampments and known parties, meaning wide information isn’t lower.

“Safety is each astir really group feel. Do they consciousness safe successful nan community? When I look astatine nan stats complete nan years, each twelvemonth that’s improving. That’s what we request to beryllium proud of.”

Both Mehdizadeh and Adair opportunity their respective organizations are successful bully style heading into 2026.