Larry Gabruch, Fire Chief in the Battleford Fire Department, came by town council to describe what was, for his department, a "very successful year."
Also included at the meeting Monday were yearly building permit statistics from the last 10 years and statistics about the town's water treatment system.
In the fire statistics, the most important figure from the last year is the fire fatalities category. There were no fire fatalities or injuries in either the town of Battleford or the RM of Battle River, which the Battleford Fire Department also serves.
Otherwise, the statistics tell a mixed story. Vehicle accidents in Battleford were up to 10, the second-highest number since 2002 after 2011. The fire department also performed three vehicle rescues, an all-time high, and carbon monoxide calls hit their highest number since 2002, with eight total calls.
Somewhat worryingly for Chief Gabruch was the fact that false alarms were up, almost to record levels. Gabruch noted that, in a few cases, a single location was responsible for several false alarms, and that the cost of just investigating an alarm is around $500. Because of this, he made the recommendation to council that any false alarms beyond a certain number come with a fine, to give residents an incentive to fix what are often faulty security systems.
Gabruch mentioned that he came up with the idea after seeing how North Battleford reduced the number of false alarms they received. Council agreed with him that such a fine could be helpful in reducing the number of false alarms, but took no further action at the meeting.
Though many of the fire department's statistics were up, a few were, encouragingly, down. Grass and brush fires in the Battleford area were minimal, with the Fire Department responding to only one. And residential and commercial fires, of which there were three and one, respectively, were also down.
The number of grass fires in the RM, however, were the highest in 10 years, something the fire department attributed more to the weather than anything else.
The overall picture was slightly positive. Total responses were the highest in the last 10 years for the RM, and the third highest for Battleford itself. But these fires and responses accounted for little damage - only an estimated $25,000 compared to an 11-year average of about $95,000.
The meeting also saw the release of the building permit summaries for 2012 and the past 10 years. The last year saw a total of 55 residential building permits, including 14 for new buildings, totaling $5,799,711 in value. 2011, by contrast, saw a total of 67 residential permits, including 27 for new buildings, totaling $10,528,000. There were also five commercial building permits, including two for new buildings, in 2012, with a total value of $7,508,000. During 2011, there were only three commercial building permits issued, all for renovations, with a total value of $345,000.
In all, 2012 saw 62 permits issued for a total value of $13,542,711, compared to 2011's 72 permits totaling $10,921,400.
The 10-year summary provided more context for the numbers, showing clearly the difference made by former Mayor Chris Odishaw's council, which was elected in 2006. Up to 2006, the largest total value of building permits in a year was $4,591,394, in 2006. During the period between 2006 and 2012, though, the smallest total permit value was around double, and the highest total permit value was in 2010, when there was a total of $15,386,657.
Because it was the first meeting of 2013, the town was also provided with a summary of the town's water quality. The document is available to the public, and can be viewed on the town's website at www.battleford.ca. In summary, though, the town's water passed all of its tests, whether for bacteria or for trace chemicals.
