The Barriere First Responders Society says it has been called out to more emergencies this year than any other.

The society’s vice president Drew McMartin says the group has responded to more than 60 calls in 2018 in the Barriere area.

One of the notable incidents in the community was on Dec. 6, when a family of five was airlifted to hospital in Vancouver after being exposed to carbon monoxide in their own home. Fortunately, the family was released from hospital later that night and all members are reportedly back to good health.

“We’ve done anything from the carbon monoxide poisoning, chest pain, cardiac arrest to motor vehicle accidents and everything in between,” McMartin says.

He adds the amount of call-outs has increased every year since the society was formed in 2014.

“And I would anticipate next year being even busier.”

The province this month awarded $87,500 in grant funding to the society to help pay for a new ambulance, which McMartin says will be arriving from New Brunswick likely in late January.

The total cost for the new ambulance is just over $90,000 dollars. The Barriere First Responders is still looking to fundraise about $2,600, as of Friday morning.