During the Estevan Fire Rescue Service’s weekly training night last week, they had a couple of presentations from the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan.
It was an RCMP-driven initiative that brought together all of the emergency services from the southeast corner of the province for a session at the fire hall’s training room.
“They came in to make a presentation on how to deal with people that suffer from mental illness, as well as how to recognize signs and symptoms within the organizations when it relates to critical incident stress management and post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Fire Chief Dale Feser.
Two individuals who have battled mental illness were part of the presentation.
Later that night, the fire department had regular training for all of the firefighters who participated in the training session, in which they worked on a flagging course for traffic control.
“This is a Saskatchewan Safety Council-led course to ensure that firefighters are wearing proper protective equipment, and that they meet Occupational Health and Safety … standards,” said Feser.
Standard turnout gear does not meet those standards, so when they’re out providing traffic control at a fire scene or following a collision, firefighters wear vests to be compliant.
Members of the fire department to last week, with several calls on April 1.
Firefighters were called regarding a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm on Holmgren Bay on April 1. When they arrived on the scene, it proved to be a faulty detection device, and there weren’t any traces of CO in the home.
The fire department reminded the homeowner of the need to purchase a new device, since the existing one was more than 10 years of age.
Later that afternoon, they were called to a commercial fire alarm. It was determined that a commercial contractor was in there, providing duct cleaning services for the system.
But there was a miscommunication with the monitoring agency and the contractor, which signalled the alarm.
“The dust inside the duct work mimicked smoke, so that it sent an alarm to the fire department, to which we responded, and then found out that the monitoring agency was not supposed to be calling us until 5 o’clock later that afternoon,” said Feser.
Later that evening, there was a reported electrical smell in a condominium complex in south-central Estevan. Using thermal imaging cameras, they did an assessment in the building and found that there was an electrical wiring issue from the hot water heater in one of the suites.
“Power was isolated to that particular area, and the condo association was advised to contact an electrician ASAP to rectify the situation so there wouldn’t be any other fire situations occurring in that condominium complex.”
A commercial fire alarm in south-central Estevan required the fire department’s attention April 3. Once again, a contractor was working in the building, and that person called the monitoring agency to report their activity, but they gave the incorrect address for the building they were working on.
The fire department also assisted the Royal Canadian Legion’s Estevan branch and the No. 2901 Estevan Army Cadets with crowd control for the parade associated with the activities held in Estevan associated for the 102nd anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Feser noted that he and Deputy Chief Rick Davies were also in Moose Jaw for the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs Conference last week. The convention attracted chiefs from across the province.
This week’s edition of Lifestyles will have more on the convention.
