Shifting patterns of emergency incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Vaughan, Canada

Purpose – The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many facets of urban life and operations, including emergency incidents. This study examines how COVID-19 has brought about changes in, and shifting patterns of, emergency incidents in the City of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The study aims to derive insights that could potentially inform planning and decision-making of fire and rescue service operations as further stages of the pandemic unfold. Design/methodology/approach – Standard temporal analysis methods are applied to investigate changes in number and nature of emergency incidents, as recorded sequentially in the city’s fire and rescue service incident report database, through various phases or waves of the pandemic and the associated public health measures that have been introduced. Findings – Our analyses show a decrease in the number of emergency calls compared to previous reference years. Vehicle related incidents show the highest decline, and changes in daily and hourly pattens are consistent with public health measures in place during each stage of the pandemic. The study concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on demand for emergency services provided by the fire department. Originality/value – We believe this is the first study applying temporal analysis on a city’s emergency incident response data spanning various phases/waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis may be replicated for other municipal fire services, which can generate further insights that may apply to specific local conditions and states of the pandemic.