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Vancouver's fire department is preparing to stop responding to the site of non-critical medical calls to preserve its ability to respond to major fires and other emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fire Chief Darrell Reid told a news conference this week the department is looking at changing its service model, in a move representing one of many ways emergency response across the country is evolving as the novel coronavirus spreads.
"We're triaging ourselves to maximize our ability to stay resilient for a long term," Reid said.
The experience of other countries around the world illustrates that COVID-19 calls may evolve to become top-priority medical calls, Reid said. Firefighters understand they still play a role in the health-care system, particularly in urgent cases, and are prepared to respond to those as needed.
But the idea is to preserve the fire department's capacity to respond to fires and other emergencies as pressure mounts on the system.
"There's actually a lot of science behind triage, it's literally a scoring system based on the severity of calls," Reid said.
British Columbia Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said the province is already seeing retired first responders step up and offer to help in case they are needed.
Beyond abiding by directives made by public health officials, it's up to local emergency units to make their own decisions about adjusting service models depending on the size of a detachment, its schedules and the situation in a particular region, he said.
Some RCMP detachments across Canada are reducing or suspending certain front-counter services and others normally offered in their offices, in consultation with local authorities.
But the national headquarters said the pandemic is not affecting how police respond to emergencies.
"There has been no change to the RCMP’s response to critical and emergency matters," spokeswoman Catherine Fortin in a statement.
The RCMP has plans for national and divisional emergency operations related to health emergencies, as well as business continuity plans. These plans will be activated if and when required, she said.
