Photo credit: City of Saskatoon

If you see the Community Support team in Saskatoon, their uniforms look almost the same except the crest they now sport is that of the Saskatoon Fire Department and their work has expanded to include Transit, but they will offer the same support as has been done in the past for the Downtown, Riversdale and Broadway Business Improvement Districts.

Assistant Fire Chief Yvonne Raymer say they are now the Fire Community Support Team (FCS), and their workers will try to provide support before frustration overtakes someone and the situation becomes a concern for the transit operators and the riders.

“We can offer them support, offer them a form of rehousing, offer them outreach, and transportation, and sort of do that soft hand off and also then tell them they will have to actually move along but we don’t do it in an enforcement way or tactical way such as police.”

Some preliminary de-escalation training has taken place, and she says Saskatoon Police have offered to collaborate to provide further training. The program has operated under the management of the Business Improvement Districts since 2012. As of July 1st, it transferred to the Saskatoon Fire Department and team members will also ride and patrol targeted bus routes where negative or violent incidents are more frequent.

This spring bus operators, supervisors, customer service employees and passengers have been exposed to more aggressive and violent incidents on Saskatoon Transit. Over the month of May there were four violent incidents including two stabbings, the assault of a bus driver, and a group of three men fighting.

In the 2024 Budget, six additional staff members were added, and they are split between two battalions.  Assistant Chief Raymer says they work a four-on, four-off shift based on a seven-day-a-week model.  The program transitioned to the Saskatoon Fire Department July 1st but it wasn’t until July 16th that all six new employees had boots on the ground.