ESTEVAN - Fire crews responded to a couple of calls over the past few days.
Thursday morning at about 1 a.m., a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm was triggered in a residence in the north-central area of the city. The family had safely evacuated the building upon the firefighters' arrival and were waiting in their vehicle.
"They weren't experiencing any signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure. So they did everything textbook by getting out of the house and calling the fire department. Crews did enter the home and did find 28 parts per million in the mechanical maintenance room area of the home," explained Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
SaskEnergy was also called to the scene to find the cause of the alarm. Firefighters ventilated the house and brought it down to a manageable level.
Feser noted that the investigation showed that "it was the supply air issue creating a downdraft situation."
"Essentially what that means is that there wasn't enough air to support proper combustion and ventilation of the boiler units inside the home itself. So SaskEnergy was working with the homeowner to contact a plumbing contractor in order to fix that particular situation," Feser said.
The scene was turned over to SaskEnergy and the homeowner, and firefighters returned to the station.
On Tuesday at about 3 p.m., firefighters were also called to a report of a residential fire alarm occurring in the north-central area of the city. As the crews were arriving on the scene, the call was updated, saying there were no fire conditions present, however, the cause of the alarm was still unknown.
Firefighters continued to respond in a non-emergent fashion. They made contact with the homeowner and learned that the individual noticed a light being on for one of the detection devices, so they were testing the device, which triggered the alarm.
"We were grateful there was no emergency occurring. However, just another gentle reminder to everyone to ensure that if you are going to be testing the system, or whatever the case may be, if there are contractors in the home doing some work, covering up those detection devices, it's always a good idea to contact the monitoring agency to let them know what you're doing there," Feser said.
"And last but not least, always make sure that the homeowner is the first point of contact so that way if they are trying to get a hold of somebody as soon as the alarm goes off, and if there is no one home, then the fire department is automatically dispatched. That way it alleviates a lot of unnecessary calls for the fire department."
On Wednesday the fire department continued to distribute rapid antigen COVID-19 tests. Feser said it wasn't as busy, and they still have some supplies left. Next Wednesday, from 1:30-4 p.m., they will again distribute tests free of charge, one kit of five tests per household, while supplies last.
