A relatively quiet week allowed the Estevan Fire Rescue Service to catch up on paperwork and also get ready for some needed controlled burns.
One call came in early Saturday. At about 2:30 a.m., the fire crews were dispatched to a report of a residential smoke alarm. The call came from the north-central area of Estevan. Once on scene, firefighters couldn’t see any smoke or flame from the exterior of the building.
“Once crews did make access to the single-family dwelling there they met with the homeowner. And an occupant had indicated that it was a cooking-related alarm,” said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
Further investigation confirmed that the source of the smoke was a burned pizza in the oven.
There was not enough smoke for any ventilation efforts, so the scene was turned back to the homeowners.
The EFRS reminds the public that people should always monitor cooking and make sure that whatever they are making on the stove or in the oven doesn’t get away on them. Besides, the residents should be mindful of the notification procedures to prevent unnecessary firefighters’ activations.
“Please, ensure that notification procedures of your residential fire alarms are indeed to the homeowner first prior to the fire department, especially with smaller cooking-related issues,” said Feser.
There haven’t been any wildland fires in the area this season yet, but the firefighters are closely monitoring the situation.
They are also getting ready to conduct several prescribed burns this or the next week, depending on a few conditions.
“We have to take into consideration the available manpower, the weather conditions, the moisture content and the fire danger indexing and the vegetation here at the time. But the biggest thing is the wind conditions because once we start this, we obviously want to keep the smoke away from the residential occupancy areas as much as possible,” said Feser.
When decisions to conduct the burns are made, citizens will be notified via flyers and through social media.
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