Saskatoon fire launches expansion to community support team with focus on transit safety
CBC
The Saskatoon Fire Department has relaunched the newly rebranded Fire Community Support (FCS) team, with six new staff members.
A similar team called the Community Support Program was managed by the city's business improvement districts previously, but the fire department took over the program at the start of July and renamed it.
Support team members wander business areas, bus stations and also ride on buses. Their goal is to connect and make relationships with people who are experiencing homelessness, addictions and mental health issues. The workers are trained with de-escalation skills and can contact emergency services if needed.
The team previously had six officers. The six new workers are meant to put more focus on the transit system. The fire department says the team will target and ride on routes where incidents happen more frequently.
The team will also now operate seven days a week.
Recent months have seen stabbings on transit and bus drivers assaulted, leading to the program transfer and additional staff.
Bus riders in the downtown area Monday had a variety of takes on the program.
Matthew Ocheke said he's been riding the bus in Saskatoon for two months.
Ocheke said he "definitely [feels] very safe" in general on the bus, and that he has "no concerns at all."
He added that he doesn't think the extra support officers are necessary.
Another downtown bus user, Randeep Kaur, said the added officers would make her feel safer, but that her main concern was getting more convenient bus routes in the city.
Kaur said she was from Toronto, where in her opinion there were "much better" transit routes.
Karen Encaranto agreed it was a good idea to have more FCS team members on buses.
Encaranto said she uses the bus every single day. She said she never used to feel scared to be on one, but that changed after she read a news story about the recent stabbings and assaults.