Members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service were called to an accident involving a moose and a vehicle on Highway 47 north of Estevan on Dec. 27.
Upon arriving on the scene, which was about 23 kilometres outside of the city, emergency crews found that the vehicle went into the ditch after striking the animal. The vehicle sustained extensive damage in the collision, and the lone occupant was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Deputy fire chief Rick Davies said the occupant was shaken up, and suffered undetermined injuries, but the injuries are believed to be minor in nature.
“The damage (to the vehicle), between striking the moose and then entering ditch, it would have been a fairly significant accident,” said Davies.
A rollover did not occur in the accident.
The fire department was also called to a commercial fire alarm at an apartment building on Perkins Street on Dec. 25. It was a “fairly minor” cooking-related incident.
Crews made entry and ventilated the area that was affected, and alarms were reset.
Davies said the response to the fire call serves as a testament to the fire department’s dedication, since many of them were spending time with their families.
“Obviously there were some guys who couldn’t respond due to being out of town, but we did have enough response to roll the units necessary,” he said.
The fire department is thankful for those who did sacrifice their Christmas night to respond to the call.
The call came in just after 8 p.m. that night, and it was cleared by 9 p.m.
Their next call was a reported structure fire in north Estevan in the evening of Dec. 26, but it also proved to be minor in nature. The problem was the home’s heating and air conditioning unit.
There wasn’t an actual fire, and the home didn’t sustain any structural damage.
Davies said that up until their call on Dec. 25, it had been relatively quiet for the fire department. They hadn’t received a call since Dec. 14. They also had their last training night for the year on Dec. 11, and they won’t have another training session until Jan. 8.
Firefighters did ring bells at the Southern Plains Co-op’s Estevan grocery store on Dec. 22 to support the Estevan Salvation Army’s kettle campaign. It was their final community engagement effort of the year as well.
