Firefighters called to carbon monoxide and natural gas related calls
Members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service have had to tend to calls for carbon monoxide alarms and natural gas leaks during the past week.
The fire department was called to a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm at a residence on Nov. 28. Fire Chief Dale Feser said the family was able to evacuate the home, and didn’t suffer from any exposure.
There were some elevated levels of CO in the home at the time, and Feser said the issue appeared to be with the furnace.
SaskEnergy responded to the scene to take care of the issues, and a plumbing contractor had to be called in afterwards.
“With carbon monoxide, we want to remind all of our citizens out there you don’t want to take any chances with this,” said Feser. “This is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas.”
If a CO alarm goes off, Feser urges people to call 911, evacuate the building immediately, and wait for the fire department to arrive.
The following day, a natural gas leak occurred at a commercial building in the industrial area in southeast Estevan. A construction company was doing some excavating work close to the building, and came into contact with the line providing natural gas service to the building.
The line ruptured, but crews were able to isolate valves and prevent it from getting worse.
SaskEnergy also responded and eventually took over the scene.
Earlier in the week, firefighters were called to a motor vehicle collision on King Street on Nov. 27. A vehicle came into contact with a stop sign. There weren’t any injuries involved, and no fluids were leaking.
“The crews checked over the truck just to make sure it was still operational, and the police service continues to investigate the cause of the collision,” said Feser.
The fire department also responded to a couple of incidents in which overhead power lines came into contact with power lines, and caused a fire. The first was on Dec. 2 and the other was the early afternoon of Dec. 3.
The branches have been weighed down by the rime frost caused by the foggy conditions.
“Any time you come across the situation, please make sure that you’re phoning 911. Do not phone the fire station, call 911 so that the crews can get there in a timely manner. We just want to make sure that nobody’s going to suffer an injury as a result.”
Firefighters also had their weekly training session on Nov. 26. The City of Estevan made a presentation on cannabis in the workplace, reasonable suspicion and firefighters being fit for duty.
They also had a visit with Nicholas Hennink, a paramedic, singer-songwriter and photographer from Moose Jaw who was in Estevan to take photos of Estevan’s first responders.
For more on Hennink, please see Page A5.
Feser also attended the Nov. 27 funeral service for Darrell Morrison, the Rosetown volunteer firefighter who was killed while responding to an accident near the town in mid-November.
