Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) crews stayed fairly busy throughout the last seven days.
The most recent call came in on Oct. 14, when crews were dispatched to a ditch fire occurring west of Estevan on Highway 18.
“Crews responded and extinguished the fire without incident,” said Estevan Deputy Fire Chief Rick Davies.
There were no injuries and no damage to anyone’s property as a result of the fire.
Since the fire started right along the roadway, it was assumed that a carelessly discarded smoking material was to blame for it.
Davies added that unlike most cases, this time the wind worked to the firefighters’ benefit and it didn’t take them long to put the fire out.
Earlier last week on Oct. 8, local firefighters were dispatched to a commercial fire alarm call. The alarm went off in a building on the east side of Estevan. Davies said that it was quickly confirmed that it was a false alarm. The alarm system was malfunctioning, and no emergency was occurring. So firefighters were stood down and returned to the station right away.
The next call for service came in on Oct. 11 in the evening, when fire crews were dispatched to a power pole fire. The emergency was occurring outside of the city limits to the southeast.
“The crews responded to that. With the assistance of SaskPower the power pole was extinguished without incidents,” said Davies.
A strong wind broke the cross-arm, and the power line came in contact with the power pole, starting it on fire.
On Oct. 13, fire crews responded to a fire alarm that went off in one of the Estevan schools on the west side of the city. All students and staff successfully evacuated the building prior to the firefighters’ arrival.
“Crews arrived on scene and pinpointed the area where the alarm was from,” said Davies. “The school was searched and nothing was found. So we were able to reset the fire alarm system and make sure that everything was good for the kids to re-enter.”
Then the scene was turned over to the school’s maintenance to further troubleshoot the malfunctioning alarm system.
