ESTEVAN - The new year started with a call for service for the Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS).
The call came in on Jan. 2. A commercial fire alarm went off in a restaurant in central Estevan.
"Crews did arrive on scene to find that the fire alarm panel was active and it was indicating that the hood suppression system for the cooking appliance was activated. Upon investigation, it was learned that this indeed was not the case, as everything was fully functional and armed and still ready to go,” said Fire Chief Dale Feser.
“So after investigation, it was deemed that was a faulty detection sent to the alarm system. It was reset and crews returned to the fire station.”
The next call for service wasn’t until Jan. 8, when at 1:30 a.m., fire crews were alerted to another commercial fire alarm, triggered at Canadian Tire. The building was secured and the key holder allowed access into the store.
“Thankfully there was no fire that was occurring but there's a malfunction of the fire alarm pull station, so the fire pull station and fire alarm panel were reset and it was turned back over to the building key holder,” Feser said.
On Jan. 9 at about 6 a.m., firefighters were dispatched for a hotspot investigation. A furnace fire occurred in a house in north-central Estevan, and was put out by the homeowner. Crews attended to find that the fire was indeed extinguished. They checked the building with thermal imaging cameras to ensure there were no heat signals in the walls. Nothing was picked up, and the homeowner was advised to contact a plumbing company to fix the furnace.
Later that morning, EFRS members responded to a motor vehicle collision. A semi and a truck collided north and west of Bienfait on the grid road.
“Crews did arrive on scene to find one vehicle had struck a semi unit. There was some minor injuries. EMS attended and treated the individual involved. Our crews provided traffic control and assisted EMS and isolated the vehicle to ensure there's zero energy and no one else is going to get hurt. Then the scene was turned over to the RCMP to continue to investigate the cause of the collision,” Feser said.
On Jan. 10 at about 1 p.m., firefighters responded to a commercial fire alarm occurring at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Fire crews found that a sprinkler head was activated. Upon investigation, it was learned that a sprinkler head burst and there was no actual fire. The water was isolated and firefighters turned it over to the hospital maintenance staff to repair the system.
Just an hour after that, they were dispatched to a report of a structure fire occurring in east-central Estevan. A fire had occurred in a microwave, which was quickly unplugged and the fire was extinguished.
“Crews did provide some ventilation for the structure and ensured that there was no other fire outside of the microwave itself,” Feser said.
The building was then turned back over to the owner.
The fire station has also been busy distributing COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, provided by the province. They received more tests on Tuesday morning, and those tests are ready to be picked up. Feser said the tests were available at St. Joseph’s Hospital around the clock as supplies last as well, as at Southern Plains Co-op in Estevan. The fire station will update the public when they receive more shipments from the province.
