LAC LA BICHE - Combined, Lac La Biche fire trucks and peace officer vehicles logged half a million kilometres in the line of duty in 2022.
It's a lot of kilometres, say managers of both the Protective Services and Enforcement Services departments of the municipality — but it's also a very large municipality.
Of the 344 towns, cities, summer villages, Metis Settlements, specialized municipalities and counties in Alberta, Lac La Biche County is the eleventh in total area.
While it may not be a statistic all residents know about, it is one that local emergency responders go up against every day.
At 12,527 square-kilometres — and with an average of just three people for every five square kilometres of that varied geography — protecting the 8,500 residents plus travellers through the region can stretch resources, says Lac La County's Biche Regional Fire Chief and the municipality's manager of Protective Services John Kokotilo.
In recent weeks, emergency responses have been called to the furthest points of the municipality — and beyond. A motor vehicle crash a week into the new year near Conklin was an almost-300 kilometre round-trip for fire and peace officers. The response meant that at least two on-shift peace officers were out of the immediate service area for three-plus hours. Another recent crash near Kikino at the southern tip of the municipality calls out emergency crews for at least two hours.
"We have a very large area to cover with three highways that travel to the second and third largest cities in Alberta –Edmonton and Ft. McMurray. We encounter a large number of incidents... approximately 30 of our calls are motor vehicle collisions on those highways," Kokotilo said.
In 2021 members from the five district fire halls that make up the Lac La Biche County Fire Rescue Service attended more than 600 dispatched callouts. Kokotilo estimates that Lac La Biche firefighters roll across approximately 200,000 kilometres of the municipality for calls and community programming, like Fire Smart and Safety Code programs each year. In recent years, municipal firefighters have also been asked to assist firefighters in other regions with forest fires or other community disasters.
"It would be be approximately 175,000-200,000 (kilometres) per year ...more if you include our Disaster Service Division if we provide Mutual Aid in structure protection.
Peace officers
The high mileage statistics are similar in the county's Enforcement Services department as well. In the most recent report — Lac La Biche County's Manager of Enforcement Services Chris Clark says peace officers in their seven-vehicle fleet clocked 305,000 kilometres in 2022.
"This is slightly above average for the Enforcement Services Department compared to other years. Usually we are about 285,000," he told the Lac La Biche POST newsroom.
Breaking down the statistics further, Clark said 35 per cent of the distance is covered in patrols inside the Lac La Biche hamlet, 15 per cent come from patrols in the Plamondon hamlet, and the remaining 150,000 kilometres are from rural coverage.
It's a big area, he says, and it takes time to patrol all of it. An average week, for example, will see at least three patrols or complaint calls north of the Heart Lake area
"Each of these trips can range between two and five hours depending on the incident or what officers locate in proactive patrols," he said, explaining that short of building a new dispatch office in more remote locations, the distances and times are part of the job when it comes to serving such a large jurisdiction.
"This is part of our regular job and response that take place," he said, explaining that officers must anticipate long distances and travel time on each shift. "It is a balancing act. There have been several times in which our officers have been dealing with a standard complaint in Plamondon and received a call to Rich Lake. The drive-time and planning is something that our officers need to constantly consider. Things like accessing fuel, ensuring they have all of the equipment they require ... There are many factors to consider. Some of our shifts see officers drive between 400 and 600 kilometres."
If a shift turns very busy, requiring more officers, Clark said additional staff can be called in, or placed on call so they are ready if they are needed.
Prepare for the trip
On the other side of the dispatch call, Clark says residents living in remote areas of the region or motorists needing assistance can help themselves by reducing risks associated with living and travelling in a large service area.
"The public needs to know that if you are in a remote area and something happens, the call for help and the resources coming might have a long response time. Before they travel they should communicate with family or friends about travel routes. Phones should be charged and emergency supplies packed. Also we would like to encourage motorists that are driving, if they see a vehicle in the ditch or think that someone needs help, to please stop and render aid. A life may be dependent on your ability to stop and help."
Clark says that despite the challenges of the large area, he is satisfied with the response times of municipal officers — but like Kokotilo, he's always looking to improve service levels.
"We constantly look at the balancing act and try to have officers positioned in areas where there is increased risk, areas where there are events taking place or where we see an increase in complaints or requests from the public," he said.
Another area where the public plays an important role relates directly to other motorists travelling on all of those kilometres of roadways in the large municipality.
Both Clark and Kokotilo say that while their crews are rolling to calls, motorists need to be aware.
"For the most part our Alberta drivers are very cognizant of responding emergency vehicles and try to give us as much room as possible – thanks for that," Kokotilo said, but added that even one obstacle on the way to an emergency call that might already be hampered by distance can be disastrous. ."Time is of the essence and could mean the difference between life or death."
The full 2022 report for both departments is expected to be reviewed by municipal officials this week.
