Cochrane and area residents packed the Legion Hall on Aug. 10 to discuss concerns over local ambulance coverage, and 12 people stepped forward to form a citizen action group.

It was the first of several town halls in the Calgary area being organized by some veteran paramedics who believe rural ambulances must stay in their home communities to serve their residents.

"This was beautiful to see because it was a group of citizens to freely discuss problems they have in the local community," says Don Sharpe, one of the organizers.

"We heard some great stories from people, those who sadly had lost loved ones and others who had success stories. That lovely woman with her brand new baby who told the story about the care she received from paramedics when her baby was born not breathing, boy, I don't think there was a dry eye in the place."

He believes when citizens come together, they're capable of almost anything.

"I think, generally, there was a feeling that there's no white hat. Nobody's going to ride in and save your town or save your emergency services. This is up to the people of the community, so they're getting together to come up with some ideas about who they're going to talk to, and how they're going to approach this."

Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie issued a statement today, saying the information being presented at the town halls is inaccurate.

“These town halls do not involve authorized AHS or EMS officials and the opinions expressed do not represent their office.  AHS/EMS have been conducting outreach to communities over the last several months as part of their community engagement strategy, meeting with municipal officials, MLAs, and groups such as the AUMA and those conversations are ongoing," he states.

"The narrative that Airdrie and Cochrane are without sufficient EMS servicing does not reflect accurate information. Neither community is experiencing staffing issues with employment vacancies consistently lower than other regions of the province.

"I want to recognize the incredible work being done by AHS and for their commitment to ongoing community engagement efforts. AHS continues to monitor services and is currently conducting a provincial review to ensure that best practices are met throughout Alberta.”

Mayor Jeff Genung, town councillors Marni Fedeyko and Susan Flowers, as well as some declared town council candidates, attended the meeting.

Mayor Genung endorsed the creation of the committee.

"I really like the idea of that citizen action group. I would be the first to put my hand up. I don't know if that would help or not, but certainly, as a group, we want to be engaged and part of the solution."

He says there is a need for discussions with the provincial government.

"I've heard from other communities, I've talked to other mayors and councils across the province, and we're all experience the same issues. We're talking about it together, but we're not talking about it to other layers of government."

Black Diamond Mayor Ruth Goodwin was present and impressed Sharpe with her belief in the need for communities to protect their paramedics.

"And she held her hands out almost like a shield, and I thought, that's true. We've lost a lot of people lately with mental and physical injuries, and to hear a mayor from a town in Southern Alberta say we want to protect these people so they can look after us, is exactly the sentiment I was looking for."

A second town hall was held in Okotoks last night (Aug. 11). There's one tonight in Strathmore and Airdrie on Friday.

Sharpe says other communities have reached out, and also want to hold town halls.

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