Community Stories

Flurry of activity results in McFlurries 

March 28, 2020

The City of Red Deer’s Emergency Services department sent a delivery of McFlurries to the Saskatoon Police Department as appreciation for their help during an unprecedented flurry of activity earlier this week.

At approximately 9 a.m. on Wednesday March 25, Telus Mobility customers experienced a 9-1-1 outage that prevented customers in Central Alberta from calling 9-1-1 on their mobile phones. The City of Red Deer, Airdrie, Clearwater County and Rockyford sent out emergency information alerts to their residents. Red Deer residents were advised that, in the event they needed to call 9-1-1, they needed to do so from a landline, or go to their nearest police detachment or fire hall.  

When the outage was resolved at approximately noon on March 25, Deputy Chief Chris Kearns discovered that Saskatoon Police had taken the majority of all the calls during the outage. Saskatoon Police went above and beyond, handling their own calls along with the Telus Mobility calls for the Province of Alberta, and figured out the necessary work-arounds to handle the increased volume of calls so that no one was negatively impacted. 

We are so appreciative of our colleagues in other provinces who have our backs, especially during this unprecedented time. Thank you Saskatoon Police!