County taking over Bowden fire service
Red Deer County will take over the Bowden fire department.
On Tuesday, county council approved assuming responsibility from the Town of Bowden, which had been contracted to provide fire protection. The town wanted to get out of the firefighting business.
County assistant CAO Ric Henderson said the town believed the county could do the service easier administratively.
The volunteer firefighters in Bowden will remain, he added.
“It’s same people, same operation,” said Henderson.
“It’s the same level of service.”
The county was already providing capital dollars for fire equipment, as well as annual operating dollars.
The county owns three of the five trucks and will now have approved funding to replace the two other vehicles.
County leaders were provided with the extent of service calls from 2009 to 2011 — 384 in total, with 168 of those in town and the remaining 216 in the rural area.
The majority of calls are for ambulance assistance (173), motor vehicle collisions (88), which occur mainly on Hwy 2, and fire responses (123).
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