The fire department in Eastern Charlotte is reporting an increase in the number of medical calls it has received in the past month.
During the meeting, Coun. Mike Thompson said the fire department had responded to 52 calls in January 2025, which he described as a significant spike in the number of calls. Of those, according to data provided by Eastern Charlotte, just over half were training-related.
“We’ve seen a large rise in our medical calls,” he said during the meeting.
Data shows about 13 calls were medically related, a spike from just one medical related call in January 2024. A similar trend appeared in February.
In February 2025, there were nine medically related calls, compared to no medical-related calls in February 2024.
Chief Administrative Officer Jason Gaudet confirmed the rise in calls to the fire department for medical-related calls.
“I don’t think this is anything new, but this is something that we’ve noticed an uptake in the number of coverage calls to the local fire departments,” he said in an interview with The Courier.
Eastern Charlotte, like many smaller rural communities, rely solely on volunteers for their fire departments – many of whom have full-time jobs and commitments outside the fire department.
Gaudet said officials have been going back to Ambulance New Brunswick – operated by a private company – and the province to ask why this is happening.
“We’re looking for some assistance from the province on their end to look into it as well and to come up with some answers long-term,” he said.
With increasing medical calls also come costs, Gaudet explained.
“There’s also an additional cost for training firefighters, not just now for fighting fires, but also in regards to just responding to health and medical calls,” he said.
Recently, the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB), the Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Paramedic Association of New Brunswick raised concerns about the service levels by Ambulance New Brunswick as it heads for contract renewal in 2027.
“Municipal leaders express ongoing concerns with the lack of consistent presence of paramedics in their communities due to the dynamic deployment model, and lack of resources being directed toward responses in rural areas,” a joint media release from UMNB, AFC, and PANB said.
UMNB president Brittany Merrifield said in the release the organization wants a review “to ensure the shortcomings, including the increasing fire department response to medical calls, are addressed before heading into any contract renewal discussions.”
President of the Fire Chiefs Association Scott Poupart said in the release that members are feeling the pressure of responding to increased medical calls.
“Whether it is assisting ANB with medically needed lift assists or complex medical responses, we need to work together to find a solution within the paramedic system for these unsustainable demands,” he said in the release.
Meanwhile, Phil Comeau, president of the PANB, said that the concerns and experiences of municipalities need to be taken seriously.
“We all know that the current structure isn’t meeting demands, and we need to redesign it.”
Back in Eastern Charlotte, Gaudet said as summer ramps up, it feels more important to address these concerns.
“They’ve taken on a lot more. The evolution of the small firefighter fire departments in this area in Charlotte County has really changed in the last 30 years,” he said. “At one time, it was more or less chimney fires and grass fires. Now, even with the uptake in medical calls, there’s a new call for those to be trained in the medical fields.”
Ambulance New Brunswick did not respond to requests for comment.
Editor’s Note: After publishing this story, there was a clarification of data provided by Eastern Charlotte. The story has been updated to reflect the new data provided.
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