They're usually the first on the scene for just about any emergency in Okotoks.

But, the idea of restricting the number of medical responses by the Okotoks Fire Department came up at the last Council meeting, during Fire Chief Ken Thevenot's second-quarter fire report.

Thevenot says the notion is thrown about every time he makes his quarterly report, as part of the discussion about trying bringing more ambulances to the area.

He says it's a valid idea, but having the fire department respond to medical calls actually helps out Alberta Health Services in the long-run.

"We will arrive at the same time, or just before the ambulance arrives," he says. "So, we can start pre-hospital, which, in turn, will hopefully reduce the amount of stay that person would have in the hospital, which would reduce overall cost for our health-care system."

Thevenot says having the fire department be first on the scene for a medical emergency has, and will continue to save lives.

"If we can arrive there quicker and provide some health-care and some advance-care that we do have, then the outcome for the patient has been very successful," he says.

Thevenot says the idea will likely come up again more than once, but his stance on the issue is quite clear.

"Well, never say never," he says. "But in my opinion, which I provided at Council, is that we maintain the service that we have today, and we maintain that service into the future."