A growing emergency response crisis is unfolding in Eastern Charlotte as the region’s fire department reports a dramatic increase in medical calls—a symptom of broader systemic issues affecting rural healthcare delivery across New Brunswick.

The Eastern Charlotte Fire Department responded to 39 medical emergencies in March, up from just seven in the same month last year. The surge is part of a troubling trend that began in January and shows no signs of slowing. Municipal officials say the increasing demand is pushing both the department’s resources and its personnel to their limits.

“We’re committed to responding to every call,” said Chief Administrative Officer Jason Gaudet. “But this situation highlights the urgent need to improve ambulance response times. The current model simply isn’t sustainable.”

While the fire department’s primary mandate is fire response, it has increasingly filled the gap left by delayed ambulance arrivals. In rural New Brunswick, the average ambulance response time is 22 minutes. Some communities experience longer delays. In Lepreau, only 72.7% of emergency calls met the 22-minute response benchmark in March. In Blacks Harbour, the figure was slightly higher at 81.7%, but still below what many consider acceptable for critical care situations.

Compounding the issue are offload delays at hospitals, when paramedics must wait to transfer patients into care. In Blacks Harbour, 65.6% of ambulance calls in March experienced such delays, tying up units and exacerbating the shortage of available ambulances.

The consequences are not just logistical. The burden on first responders—particularly volunteer and on-call firefighters now being dispatched to high-stress medical emergencies—is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

“These calls are emotionally taxing,” one Eastern Charlotte councillor noted. “Our firefighters are encountering overdose victims, critical injuries, and life-threatening health issues. This isn’t the role they signed up for, and they’re not equipped with the same supports as paramedics.”

The added pressure comes amid an ongoing drug crisis that has further complicated the nature and frequency of emergency calls. The emotional toll on firefighters—often untrained in mental health care and trauma management—has become a growing concern for municipal leaders.

Organizations including the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, the Paramedic Association, and the Association of Fire Chiefs, are now urging the province to reconsider how emergency services are deployed and supported. They argue that a fragmented system, in which fire departments increasingly bear the weight of a healthcare crisis, cannot endure without reform.

With Ambulance New Brunswick’s current contract under review, the issue has reached a critical juncture. The outcome of those negotiations will shape not just how quickly help arrives, but who provides it—and at what cost.

Local leaders are calling for an integrated approach that prioritizes equitable access to emergency care in rural regions. Without systemic changes and a renewed investment in both personnel and infrastructure, officials warn the region could soon face an emergency services breakdown that leaves both responders and residents at risk.