Three separate accidents involving wildlife happened in the Estevan area within five days, causing significant damage to vehicles.
On Oct. 17 at about 6:30 a.m., firefighters were called to a vehicle versus deer accident about five kilometres east of Estevan on Highway 39. Another vehicle vs. deer accident occurred on Oct. 18 also at about 6:30 a.m. approximately one kilometre west of Estevan on Highway 18. The third call came in on Oct. 21 again at 6:30 a.m. This time a vehicle hit a moose about 25 kilometres north of Estevan on Highway 47.
“We’ve had quite a few calls here especially right around anywhere from 6 o’clock to 8 o’clock in the morning, the dawn time of the day. (We want to ask drivers) to exercise extreme caution when you are driving into the city, as well as at dusk. That’s when the wildlife is typically hard to see and fairly active. So make sure that should you come into contact with wildlife that you call 911 as soon as possible. If the vehicle is somewhat still drivable, move it off to the side of the road to the shoulder and then remain on the scene until emergency crews arrive,” said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
In those three accidents, vehicles were undrivable and had to be towed from scenes. Firefighters returned the vehicles to zero energy and assisted with traffic control until vehicles were recovered from the scene. No injuries occurred as a result of any of the accidents.
The Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) had a generally busy week. In the early morning on Oct. 15, firefighters were called to a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm. Crews arrived on the scene to find out that it was a faulty detection device.
“We want to remind people that when your carbon monoxide alarm goes off, please, call 911 as soon as possible. Don’t take any second chances. This will allow crews to get in there as well as SaskEnergy personnel to attend the scene and ensure there is no carbon monoxide emergency occurring,” said Feser.
On Oct. 16, firefighters also responded to a single-vehicle incident in the central area of Estevan, in which a vehicle struck the power pole and was then hit by it. Members assisted with traffic control and ensured the public’s safety.
In the afternoon on Oct. 17, EFRS members responded to a commercial fire alarm. It turned out that the contractor was doing some maintenance on the heating equipment and didn’t let the monitoring agency know. His actions created a lot of airborne dust, which mimicked smoke and set the alarm off.
“We would like to remind people in commercial occupancies, should they be having contractors in or any work done that would create dust or have some sort of cause to cause the fire alarm system to go off, make sure you are contacting your monitoring agencies to let them know,” said Feser, noting that the call was preventable.
On Oct. 18 in the afternoon, the fire station received a call about an odd smell in a single-family dwelling in the southeast area of the city. Crews arrived on the scene and encountered an odour that they couldn’t pick up on the detection equipment. Upon further investigation, it was found that the refrigerant used in the fridge had leaked out and caused the smell. The area was ventilated, and it was found to be safe for homeowners.
Later that night firefighters also received a few calls for commercial fire alarms for the same occupancy. Upon arriving on the scene, firefighters found out that there was a small fire occurring in the mechanical maintenance room, setting off the detection device.
“Crews were able to quickly go in and suppress the fire. The company that was doing the mechanical work there was informed of the issues that had occurred… that way they could take corrective action and repair the defective device,” said Feser.
On Oct. 19 just before 1 a.m. crews were called to a report of an outside fire. Upon investigation it was found that there was a solid fuel sauna that was in the backyard of a single-family dwelling, creating some smoke. Firefighters checked the scene and established it was safe for the occupants.
On Oct. 20 at about 11:30 a.m. another residential fire alarm had EFRS out in the community. It turned out to be cooking-related in nature and preventable. Not enough smoke remained in the home to require any ventilation efforts.
The fire department was also busy all week doing business licence and annual fire safety inspections for businesses and occupancies throughout the city.
On Oct. 15, they also held their biweekly training, which saw the crews go over to the airport and go through the airport fire response operations.
And on the weekend seven EFRS members along with the fire chief went to Swift Current to join some 300 firefighters, drawing from all across the province, to participate in the Saskatchewan Volunteer Firefighters Association’s fall training symposium. Feser was instructing a low-angle rescue course, which two of the Estevan firefighters took. Other EFRS members were taking various courses, including critical incident stress management, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), traffic incident scene management, and the ladders, ropes and knots course.
