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False alarms ires local fire chief
Mac Olsen
South Peace News
High Prairie fire chief Ken Melnyk is concerned about a high number of false alarms from people and fire alarm systems and he is calling for increased vigilance.
“Approximately 50 per cent are false alarm calls,” says Melnyk. “These are only short calls, but the volunteer firefighters are taken away from their work unnecessarily. Please make sure it is an actual fire and do not make an unnecessary call to the fire department.”
For example, a driver may see smoke in a field in the distance and call 9-1-1 without going to the site to determine if it’s an actual fire or a farmer doing a permitted burn.
As for fire alarm systems, Melnyk suggests annual servicing to reduce the chance of false alarms. Servicing is mandatory for apartment buildings, but not for others.
Melnyk presented his 2008 annual report to the protective services committee March 20, which has three categories of service calls.
For town emergencies, the department handled 48 calls and put in 298 man-hours. It is broken down into 23 alarm calls, one alarm call at the hospital, three false alarms, five structural fires, one electrical fire, one call for the crane collapse at the Gordon Buchanan lumber yard, one call for carbon monoxide, three gas leaks, two fuel spills, four vehicle fires, one grass fire, one fence fire, one dumpster fire and one CO2 call.
The department handled 28 calls with the M.D. of Big Lakes fire departments – one alarm call, three false alarms, four brush fires, eight grass fires, two vehicle fires, three structural fires, two bale fires, one grass and structural fire, one chimney fire, one house fire, one downed power line and one power pole fire – for a total of 480 man-hours.
The department also handled 25 motor vehicle incidents and put in 365 man-hours. It is divided into one false motor vehicle collision call, nine rollovers, one collision between a car and a moose, one logging truck/car incident, three two-car crashes, two head-on crashes, one car in a ditch, one collision between a car and a train, one snowmobile crash, one call for a person run over by a car, one mill rescue call, two EMS assist calls and one STARS landing.
“In total, 1,143 volunteer hours have been accrued with the fire department for emergency calls,” says Melnyk. “This does not include the hours accrued filling out fire reports, cleaning equipment, cleaning the hall, filling air bottles, training courses and such.”
The department received new equipment in 2008. In March, a new air compressor was installed at a cost of $40,000, as the old one was 25 years old and had to be replaced, he says. In October, the Alberta Environment Support and Emergency Response Team delivered a trailer with hazardous spill containment equipment.
In 2009, the department continues to develop plans for the fire training centre at the airport, including fundraising. However, four large metal shipping containers have been delivered to the site and the firefighters and other volunteers will set them up as soon as dry weather comes.
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