Summary#

Calgary City Council approved the Calgary Fire Department’s 2025 Annual Report for the City’s corporate record. This accepts a report on the department’s 2025 services, results and risks; it does not change fire services or create a new program.

• Council approved the item on the consent agenda, 15–0.
• In 2025, the department reported more than 92,200 emergency incidents, nearly 29,000 safety-code inspections and more than 14,000 school-aged children reached through fire-safety education.
• The report says the department had about 1,800 employees and maintained more than 35 formal partnerships.
• The report describes risks including service sustainability as Calgary grows, delays to procurement and station work, inflation, and changing emergency risks.

What it means for you#

• Calgarians: The decision does not directly change emergency response, inspections, fire-safety education, fees or eligibility for services. It records Council’s receipt of the annual report.
• Fire Department staff: The decision does not set new staffing levels or direct specific operational changes.
• Taxpayers: The report says the annual fire-service cost is about $180 per person, but Council’s decision does not approve a new budget or spending amount.

Money#

The report says there is no anticipated financial impact from receiving it.

• The report estimates annual fire-service costs at approximately $180 per person and says cost per incident is 10 per cent below the average of comparable services.
• It gives no cost estimate for addressing the risks it identifies, such as growth-related service needs or delayed station work.

What is unclear#

• The supplied materials list two ward-profile attachments, but do not include their contents.
• The decision does not set out whether, when or how Council will act on the report’s identified risks or service targets.

Case for#

• City staff say the annual report updates Council and the public on the department’s services, results and risks.
• The report gives a picture of the department’s workload, including more than 46,000 critical medical interventions and a reported 60-second improvement in effective response time compared with 2024.

Case against#

• City staff identify ongoing challenges to keeping service levels in step with Calgary’s growth, and say sustained investment proportional to growth is crucial. Receiving the report does not itself provide that investment.
• Staff also report delays to procurement, station construction and renovations, as well as inflation-related cost pressures. The decision does not set out specific steps or funding to address them.