Estevan’s fire department had a very active end of the week, with two field fires, a deck fire and other calls.
On Saturday at about 6 p.m., the Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) members were called to a hayfield fire occurring about 10 kilometres south of Estevan, east of the 703 grid road. Upon arrival, firefighters found the local landowners trying to control the fire. Round bales were laying in the field, so fire crews overhauled the bales and ensured complete extinguishment.
"A flare stack had ignited some of the vegetation at the base of the flare stack and set the hayfield on fire," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
Saturday winds weren't as bad as what the Estevan area experienced on Sunday, but firefighters still had to make sure that there were no signs of fire remaining before they returned to the station.
Sunday saw fire crews responding to another field fire that occurred about 10 kilometres west of Estevan on Highway 18. The medium-sized fire could have turned into a real catastrophe with the winds.
"We didn't want to hesitate, because it appeared to be threatening a ranch so we enlisted mutual aid with the Torquay Fire Department," said Feser. "We want to thank them for coming out and assisting us and making sure that there were adequate water resources there.”
He also praised the local farmers and ranchers who once again pulled it together, brought their heavy equipment out, and did their best to minimize the damage and prevent the fire from spreading.
Firefighters successfully brought the fire under control and extinguished it with no loss of property or any danger to livestock. This fire was a result of a controlled burn that occurred days before. The landowner did their best to put the controlled burn out, burring it with dirt but it appeared to not be enough.
"Due to extremely high wind conditions, some of the fire must have been still smouldering underneath the dirt. (The wind) spread the ambers to the neighbouring field that had stubling and a little bit of crop that was still there. But again, very minimal damage considering what could have happened with the extreme wind conditions," said Feser.
The fire resulted in reduced visibility on the highway. Feser reminded the drivers that if they come across a similar situation they should adjust their speed.
"You always want to make sure that you are reducing your speed to make it through the smoky environment. Due to reduced visibility you just don't know what's on the other side of that smoke," Feser said.
He added that most of the drivers reacted properly to the situation, but a few motorists still preferred to speed through the smoke.
The same day at about 7 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to an outdoor deck fire at a residence in northeast Estevan. When crews arrived, the homeowners had almost extinguished the fire.
The fire was a result of careless discarding of a cigarette butt. It started in a planter and spread to the deck. Feser said that there was a large planter, in which the smoking material was discarded. Potting soil high in nitrates started on fire and burned quite vigorously.
"At one point there were five-foot flames that were shooting up from the particular peat moss and the wooden deck."
Crews ensured the final extinguishment of the fire.
Feser thanked the homeowners for calling 911 quickly and keeping the fire at bay with the help of a garden hose up until their arrival. The strong winds in this case also could have resulted in a disaster, but Feser noted that the exterior of the house was finished with a non-combustible stucco finish, which saved it from catching on fire. However, the proper discarding of smoking material is key to preventing this type of issue.
"You definitely want to make sure that you are using proper ashcans and ashtrays when you are discarding smoking materials and even if you have a larger pale you still want to make sure that you are adding some water periodically," said Feser.
Earlier last week, at about 4 p.m. on Thursday the firefighters were dispatched to the residential fire alarm occurring in north-central Estevan. No smoke or flame could be seen from the outside of the house. Crews contacted the homeowner, who was on the phone with the monitoring agency trying to troubleshoot the system.
"It was the faulty detection device that was the cause of the alarm. Crews stood down and returned to the fire station as there was no emergency occurring," said Feser.
Friday morning at about 9:30 a.m. fire crews were called out to an unknown outdoor fire just outside the city limits on Highway 39 west. Crews arrived on scene to find a controlled burn occurring. The company that was conducting the burn was in the process of reporting it.
"We want to remind people that when you are conducting a controlled burn environment and weather permitted you always want to make sure that you are completing that phone call (to the controlled burn line) prior to ignition to prevent any false dispatching of the fire department," said Feser.
Friday afternoon at about 5:30 p.m., firefighters were called to a commercial fire alarm that went off in the central area of Estevan. There were no signs of a fire occurring from the exterior of the building. The business owner was on location trying to troubleshoot the system. A faulty detection device resulted in the call. The crews turned the scene back to the business owner and returned to the station.
Feser reminded people that whenever anyone is planning to do anything with the fire security system they should inform the monitoring agency to prevent unneeded dispatches of fire crews.
