Calgary fire chief talks water main breaks, crypto arsonists, gas explosions and rising demand

From a tumultuous water supply to crypto-demanding arsonists, fire Chief Steve Dongworth sat down with CTV News to recap the many challenges the Calgary Fire Department faced in 2024, as well as looking ahead to 2025.

With a water main break in June that crippled the city's water supply for weeks, the Calgary Fire Department was thrust into a difficult situation: figuring out how to fight fires with as little water as possible.

"I've even talked with a lot of my colleagues. This is very, very rare, you know, to have that situation where such a critical piece of infrastructure fails and there's no real backup," said Dongworth.

It led to creative ideas, such as using train cars to move water across the city or even calling in nearby water bomber airplanes.

While those backups were never needed, the situation prompted the fire department to change how it operated equipment and learn some new skills.

"We trained all of our firefighters in how to bring water in from a pond or a lake or even a pool, if you like. Because that's not something we often do," explained Dongworth.

The fire department also had to deal with a longer-term problem this year: the city's extreme growth rate.

"We are recruiting and hiring just as fast as we can right now."

With Calgary getting denser and expanding outwards, Dongworth says continued investment in fire stations is critical as the city's landscape changes.

"Construction by virtue of densification, the homes are closer together, which means not only is the fire in the source house tougher to fight, it rapidly spreads to adjoining properties,” he said.

According to the chief, while the demand is rising, opioid-related calls dropped significantly this year.

That didn't stop the department's additional medical response unit, which was introduced back in February, from responding to 4,700 calls.

"That's going really well. It turned out to be our busiest unit," Dongworth said.

The fire department also witnessed the full force of natural gas when a south Calgary home exploded in November.

"Whether it's the electricity in a lithium-ion battery, whether it's gasoline and a gasoline can, or propane or natural gas, when things do go wrong, they can be very serious," said Dongworth.

The fire department also had to deal with a unique case of arson where suspects left threatening notes demanding bitcoin.

"It's horrible someone would do that. And obviously, we'll do everything we can to keep people safe in those circumstances," said the chief.

Dongworth adds Calgary also saw its fair share of carbon monoxide calls this year – including a fatal incident in the city's northwest in December.

"I would say intuitively, we've certainly had more events where we found very high levels," he said. "I mean, I'm shocked at some of the levels of carbon monoxide."

This is prompting a reminder from the chief—that goes beyond just this year—to ensure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

The Commission on Fire Accreditation International also accredited the fire department for the sixth time in 2024, an achievement Chief Dongworth says very few fire departments have achieved.