Fire Safety Education plan and budget
Fire Safety Education provides fire prevention and life safety education to reduce community risk levels, including risks to Calgarians, property and the environment. The service develops and delivers educational programs and materials tailored to address specific risks to diverse populations experiencing vulnerabilities that may put them at greater risk of harm from fire and related emergencies. The service also develops programming and training to assist firefighters with general outreach including school fire drills, home safety visits and fire station tours. The service is responsible for the Fire Department's public engagement programs to improve community safety and resiliency.
Our customers
- All Calgarians and visitors to Calgary, including businesses, institutions, and internal staff.
- New Canadians
- School-age children
- Seniors
- Lower-income households
- People with disabilities
Our partners
- City of Calgary Fire Inspection & Enforcement
- City of Calgary Fire & Emergency Response
- City of Calgary Police Services
- Calgary 9-1-1
- City of Calgary Bylaw Education & Compliance
- City of Calgary Recreation Opportunities
- City of Calgary Neighbourhood Support
- Immigration and social service agencies
- Seniors' institutions
- Community outreach groups
- Schools
- Businesses
Value to Calgarians
- works to develop and deliver programs and services that directly impact the frequency and severity of injuries and losses at emergency incidents
- provides specialized programs for divese communities and populations experiencing vulnerabilities to reduce risks and improve positive outcomes in an emergency
- helps to prevent emergencies and alleviate demand for emergency response services through fire and life safety education
What we deliver
- Develops and delivers fire and life safety awareness programs and training seminars to diverse communities and populations experiencing vulnerabilities.
- Provides firefighters with the skills and knowledge to deliver community education like school fire drills, station tours and the home safety program.
Budget breakdown
Operating and capital budgets explained
The City develops two budgets to create impact aligned with Council’s Strategic Direction:
- The four-year (2023-2026) operating plans and budgets
- The five-year (2023-2027+) capital plans and budgets
The operating budget includes revenues, recoveries and spending related to ongoing operations. These include:
- Salaries, wages and benefits.
- Day to day programs, maintenance and services.
- Administration costs (e.g., insurance).
- Fuel
- Utilities
- Capital financing costs.
The City's total net operating budget is zero. This means we budget to collect the revenue needed to deliver services to Calgarians — no more, no less. We collect this revenue through property taxes and other sources.
The capital budget pays for long-lived assets. These provide the foundation for the services Calgarians rely on. They include:
- Maintenance of current infrastructure (e.g., bridges, buildings and playgrounds).
- Upgrades to existing community infrastructure.
- New infrastructure to provide services in areas that are underserved (e.g., Green Line).
- New infrastructure for growing areas of the city.
Learn more about our 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets.
See how the budget has been adjusted since November 2022
Measuring performance
We are measuring our performance in five areas. Each value is the goal we expect to reach by 2026.
What we've heard
According to customer research conducted in 2021 and 2022, 94 per cent of Calgarians rate Fire Safety Education as an important service and 89 per cent of Calgarians are satisfied with the service they receive. Calgarians said it was most important that Fire Safety Education helps reduce the chance of fires and life safety emergencies and provides them with information so they are aware of fire and life safety risks that may affect them. The service was unable to engage as many people directly during the pandemic due to public health restrictions which could explain why satisfaction is lower than previous years. Moving forward, the service is working to deliver a more resilient digital/physical hybrid service model capable of reaching more Calgarians.
Participate and view results of City researchWhat we're watching
- The number of emergency incidents occurring annually continues to rise.
- The number of residential fires and critical medical incidents is trending upward, and population demographics suggest a need to address risks for groups experiencing a higher degree of vulnerabilities.
- The service will continue to monitor and identify emerging groups at higher risk of poor safety outcomes at emergencies to inform service delivery.
- Fire safety preparedness is more important now than ever before as fires in new construction homes burn faster, hotter and produce more toxic smoke due to design factors, construction materials and contents. This has serious safety implications for Calgarians and firefighters.
- As more services become available on digital and virtual platforms, Fire Safety Education is exploring new ways to reach Calgarians.
Our initiatives
What we plan to do
We will reestablish pre-pandemic programming and community engagement levels while expanding in-person and virtual service offerings through a new hybrid service model. The service will also continue to deliver tailored safety education for Calgarians experiencing vulnerabilities.
How we're going to get there
- Reduce the risk of property loss, injury and death due to fire for people impacted by socioeconomic inequity. The service will achieve this by continuing to develop and provide targeted fire and life safety education to Calgarians experiencing vulnerabilities.
- Build stronger and safer communities by ensuring Fire Operations staff receive adequate education and training to improve the delivery of quality general fire safety education.
- Reestablish pre-pandemic community engagement efforts, life safety education programs and other suspended service offerings while developing new modes of delivering education and programs that leverage emerging technologies.
- Improve the inclusivity, impact and reach of fire safety education programs by continuing to develop and expand the virtual and in-person hybrid service delivery model.
- Enhance targeted community risk reduction programs by developing risk assessments using a community lens combined with fire station district boundaries to better align educational outreach for specific risks.