Private firefighter firm swapped for another at Calgary airport

The Calgary Airport Authority's plan to replace city crews with private firefighters at the internationalairport has hit a bump.

YYC had announced it awarded a contract to a private firm, Canadian Airport Fire Services, for the airside fire and rescue services, effective March 1.

The move would have ended a relationship that dates back decadesbetween the airport and the city for providing that service.

Now, the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) says its firefighters will stay on at the airport fire station until June 1.

Tight-lipped on change

In a statement, the airport authority said another company willprovide the service, notCanadian Airport Fire Services (CAFS) as was originally announced.

"YYC initially was working with a different service provider for a March 1, 2019, takeover but that contract has since been awarded to Pro-Tec Fire Services effective June 1, 2019," wrote Reid Fiest, the authority's manager of media relations.

He wouldn't comment on any contractual details or say what happened with CAFS. Instead, he notedthat Pro-Tec has more than 40 years of experience.

YYC owns the airport fire station at 78 Avenue N.E. and all of the specialized equipment there.

Calgary Fire tohave a role

Calgary Fire Department said that after the handover, its firefighters stillwill respond to calls at non-runway locations at the airport and dispatch additional crews to support airport firefighters in the event of a major incident on the runways.

Once the private company takes over, the fire department will transfer its 20 firefighters to other stations.

That means CFD won't have to hire as many recruits this year to replace firefighters who leave or retire from the department.

Fire Chief Steve Dongworth has said in the past that the airport firefighting contract actually cost the department about half a million dollars a year.

The financial terms of the contract are not being released.

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