Sirens could be heard in Estevan several times over the past couple of days.
Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) members were called to an accident, a fire and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.
On Jan. 5 at about 1:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a crash that occurred at the intersection of Kensington Avenue and Fourth Street. Two vehicles collided just west of the intersection. Firefighters provided traffic control and isolated vehicles, then the scene was turned over to the Estevan Police Service (EPS).
No injuries were reported as a result of the collision. The vehicles sustained significant damage and had to be towed.
The next call for service came in at about 4:30 p.m. when fire crews were dispatched to central Estevan for a report of a residential fire alarm.
"Once crews arrived on scene, it was found that the homeowner was changing the batteries in the detection heads. So, there was no emergency occurring, and the trucks were stood down and returned to the station," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
"A gentle reminder that any time that you are changing the batteries or trying to set the system or change stuff in the system, you want to contact the monitoring agency, because it does generate an alarm. And the first point of contact should be the homeowner as opposed to the fire department to avoid any premature dispatching of emergency services."
Another fire alarm had the crews out at about 1 p.m. on Jan. 6. This time, firefighters were called to a possible CO alarm in central Estevan. They checked the building and found little to no CO, so the scene was deemed safe and turned over to the owners.
Just a few hours later another alarm went off in a commercial building in the central part of the city. All people have safely evacuated the building upon firefighters' arrival.
"The fire alarm panel was indicating that a detection device was alarmed. Crews investigated and found no smoke or flame in the building," said Feser.
Further investigation proved that it was a faulty detection device that triggered the alarm. The scene was turned back over to the maintenance staff to fix the problem.
Firefighters also held a brief training on Jan. 5, where they set training goals for the new year.
