(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Gustafson

Understaffing Station 2

City council calls for billboards directed at fire chief to be removed, Red Deer Fire Fighters Association responds

Sep 5, 2025 | 5:07 PM

City of Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston and City Manager Tara Lodewyk have spoken out on the understaffing problem of Red Deer fire station No. 2 when it comes to what they call unprofessional billboards and personal attacks aimed at the Red Deer fire chief and deputy chiefs.

This comes after Red Deer city council passed a resolution Friday morning reaffirming its zero-tolerance stance on bullying, harassment, or intimidation directed toward city employees. Lodewyk said this policy has been in place since 2011.

This is in response to a billboard erected by International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1190/ Red Deer Fire Fighters Association just north of 67 Street and Gaetz Avenue that is in opposition to the city’s dynamic staffing policy.

Displayed on the billboard is a quote that reads, “Does your fire chief support safe staffing? Ours doesn’t.”

In the resolution, city council calls on all parties, including unions, associations, community groups, and residents to engage in respectful dialogue when it comes to matters of public concerns. Council confirmed it’s support for administration in upholding the city’s respectful workplace policies.

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Council also calls on the IAFF Local 1190 to remove the billboards and to refrain from personal attacks because, “they contribute to an unhealthy work environment.”

In addition, council expressed its confidence and support for the fire chief and deputy chiefs and added that the personal attacks are unacceptable.

In January of this year, Red Deer Emergency Services implemented dynamic staffing, which was approved by council as a cost-saving measure in the operational budget.

It’s aimed to reduce overtime hours with the goal to support and promote staff health and wellness and to reduce costs while maintaining core emergency services.

Mayor Johnston said in an interview with rdnewsNOW that council reaffirmed it’s stance Friday morning because since dynamic staffing was introduced, civility and respectful discussion around the issues has been put to the way side.

“It’s morphed into what one councillor very much described it, ‘a nasty campaign’ of personal attacks and harrassment,” he said. “Council doesn’t weigh in to labour processes and negotiations but it did find itself obligated from an accountability perspective and from a leadership perspective, to weigh in on what was happening, particularly when the billboards went up in the community a few weeks back.”

Lodewyk mentioned the billboard was the latest instance but explained there’s also been pictures of the city’s fire chief posted on social media personally calling him out. These attacks she said began in Late January even before the billboards went up and has escalated since.

“When really this is about the issue and there is no need for personal attacks on one individual,” she said.

In May, rdnewsNOW reported a solution may have been found for the understaffing at Red Deer’s Fire Station No. 2.

The issue goes back a year and revolves around the repeated situation of Station No. 2 finding itself with only two staff, as opposed to the NFPA 1710 standard of four.

Chief of Red Deer Emergency Services, Ken McMullen, said at the time, that the city and 1190, struck an agreement, or Letter of Understanding, which gave the ability to hire 12 temporary full-time EMS-only workers to fill in when understaffing occurs.

Lodewyk said Friday that move back in May was a positive step, which was implemented, because they were collaborating to find solutions.

However, Lodewyk said since the billboard went up, it has escalated the situation.

“When it comes to the union’s ability, they have latitude to raise issues and to be representative of their union members,” she said. “What happens is when they go outside of the bounds of respect… We want people to advocate and talk about decisions and processes, not people.”

She explained that the move to bring in the temporary positions did help and have continued to try to find solutions to address the excessive overtime for many years.

Lodewyk said the key thing about dynamic staffing is it’s only used when staff call in last minute for their shift.

According to data from the city, in 2024 there were 1,920 overtime shifts compared to the 160 shifts in 2025, which marks a 90 per cent reduction. They also report a $1 million reduction of money spent on overtime between January and July of this year.

IAFF Local 1190 response

President of the IAFF Local 1190, Brad Readman, said they’re currently getting legal advice on whether they’ll remove the billboard or not and the over 2,200 lawn signs displayed across the community.

However, they feel it is not harassment or bullying.

“We’ve stated the facts and we’ve only put out the chief’s actual quotes in what he’s said in the media in the past,” Readman said. “At this time, we don’t see it coming down.”

Their reasoning for putting up the billboard and for distributing requested lawn signs to community members was to get the public’s attention. They also feel that they’re not being heard by management and city council.

“This isn’t just about our safety, it’s about the community’s safety, and as firefighters, we feel very strongly about the safety of the community in which we serve,” he added.

They say they are disappointed in the lack of dialogue from city council members and the mayor with the union, despite numerous requests.

“We’ve been willing to discuss this matter from the get go. We actually had a meeting that was scheduled for the beginning of August with the fire chief and one of his deputy’s that the city cancelled last minute,” he said. “We’re willing to discuss and willing to talk. The IAFF is a solution based organization.”

In March, he said they held a vote of non-confidence and 84 per cent of their membership showed up for the vote that felt they’re not supported by the chief and deputy chiefs.

He explained the situation they’re bringing attention to is life or death and that the overtime of firefighter staff has been the result of years of not hiring adequately for the growth of the city. He mentioned the hiring of EMS staff helped but that the city also needs to hire more firefighters.

“There’s staffing and then it also comes down to mental health supports. Our members deal with high stress events and we feel the supports from the city side are not there for our members,” he said.

Readman thanked the community for their support.

“Over 2,000 signs in the ground on lawns in the City of Red Deer shows that the public also feels that the dynamic staffing policy is unsafe. We appreciate their support.”