The Estevan Fire Rescue Service has remained busy during the first nine months of the year.
Fire Chief Dale Feser said they received 160 calls for service through Sept. 30, which he said is a call every 1.74 days, and just slightly off the pace of 2019. It’s also in line with previous years.
“These are just emergency response calls, and not including any medical calls, and don’t include any training or PR engagements.”
In the first nine months of the year, firefighters were called to 39 fire-related calls, including oilfield-related fires, building fires, brush fires and grass fires. They dealt with one explosion at an industrial site in Estevan earlier this year.
They have been called to 28 motor vehicle collisions, which Feser said is down from last year, and a good sign.
Hazardous conditions calls, which include noxious smells, gas leaks, natural gas leaks and carbon monoxide, currently sit at nine.
Service calls, including the investigation of smoke or a foul smell, or assistance with an animal, currently sit at 18.
False alarm calls are at 57, which Feser said is down from normal.
“We have seen a lot of other communities right across Canada see a tremendous spike in that due to COVID, because a lot of people were cooking at home,” said Feser.
With more people at home, there were more emergencies related to cooking.
“It’s very important to make sure that you’re paying attention when you’re cooking, and don’t wander away from that stove,” said Feser.
Some of those preventable false alarm calls are also due to monitored system in their residence. It can be as simple as someone trying to change the battery. Feser said people need to contact the monitoring agency before tampering with the system.
If they take the battery out, it will initiate a call to the fire department.
Also, for the notification system, the first call should be the homeowner before the fire department.
Firefighters have also had what Feser labelled “good intent calls,” in which they stand down before they arrive at the scene, or they’re called to a controlled burn that wasn’t called in previously.
The fire department has seen its number of public relations engagements remain high, due to the birthday parties that the fire department was part of earlier this year with other emergency services in Estevan. The emergency crews would drive past the homes of children having a birthday, with their lights flashing and sirens activated.
“We tried to promote some healthy energy and positivity for our young people,” said Feser.
But the number of training nights will be down, because they weren’t happening for a few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feser said that between their regular call volumes, the public engagements and the training nights, it works out to almost something every day for the fire department.
