(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Fire and rescue

False alarm calls more than doubled for P.A. Fire last year

Jul 21, 2023 | 5:00 PM

The number of false alarms the Prince Albert Fire Department responded to in 2022 jumped from 354 to 754, an extra 400 calls.

Deputy Chief Alex Paul said that the calls do waste money for the department, but a bigger problem is taking resources out of service for real calls.

“That engine company is not available to respond to a true emergency during the time frame that they’re gone,” he said.

Every time a fire alarm rings, one truck and four firefighters are sent out and it takes about 30 minutes for them to get back to the station.

Fake calls have dropped recently as the owners of the alarms have been given some hefty fines, up to $500 per false alarm.

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“There are properties in the city that have been fined multiple times,” said Paul.

The bylaw was changed in the last two years to allow the fines.

Everybody gets one free false alarm in a 365-day period to a given civic address. If we respond a second time it’s 125, third time, 250 fourth and subsequent fines are $500.

Since the bylaw was modified several years ago, they have handed out about $30,000.

“There are properties in the city that have been fined multiple times and they’re getting that $500 fine every time,” said Paul.

The biggest offenders were commercial properties, like apartments, that were not stopping people from pulling alarms and left their buildings unlocked, so anyone could come in and set off the alarm.

Along with keeping the doors locked, apartments can make sure there are security cameras.

Along with the increased fire alarms, the department saw higher numbers of hazardous materials calls.

Those were balanced by reduced calls for fires in buildings or vehicles (15 per cent in each).

Prince Albert firefighters responded to 18 calls in 2022 in the RM of Prince Albert, with 1/3 of those grass fires and four vehicle fires.

The department is still using prescribed burns to reduce the hazard from grass fires and also worked with Community Services to burn some drainage ditches to slow the spread of Himalayan Balsam.

Other items in the 2022 year in review that was part of the last executive committee agenda were the hiring of three probationary firefighters and two retirements – a captain and a firefighter.

—

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow