ESTEVAN — Estevan Fire Rescue Service members responded to six calls in five days last week.
Fire crews responded to three fires, including an apartment fire, a significant structure fire and the blaze that occurred due to the train derailment by Macoun, which was a mutual aid call with the Midale/Cymri Fire and Rescue and First Responders, as well as CP Rail crews.
On Dec. 3 at about 3 a.m. crews were dispatched to a multi-family unit in the central part of the city for police service assistance.
“We responded, and it was determined that there had been a small fire in a suite. Fire crews confirmed fire extinguishment and ventilated the building. We were on scene for approximately an hour,” said Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies.
On Dec. 4, crews were alerted to another fire, this time far more significant. The call came in at about 10 a.m. from east Estevan, where a plant/storage warehouse at a business caught on fire.
“We ended up dealing with a fully involved structure. Crews were there most of the day, we were on scene for approximately 10 hours. Building was a total loss,” Davies said.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. No one was injured as a result of the fire.
At the train derailment scene, eight Estevan firefighters assisted with the situation on Dec. 1 for about 14 hours, with members taking turns and cycling back and forth between the scene and the station. On Dec. 2 four local firefighters helped with traffic control and detours in the derailment area for another six hours.
While fire crews were still assisting at the location by Macoun on Dec. 2, they also received an alarm call to a business on the west side of the city. Incident command responded and determined that it was false as there appeared to be a problem with the alarm system.
At about 2 p.m. on the same day, firefighters were dispatched to a vehicle collision in central Estevan. The Estevan Police Service was already on scene, and the accident was minor, Davies said, so the EFRS’s assistance wasn’t required.
On Nov. 30 at about 5 p.m. crews were also called to a carbon monoxide alarm, which went off in a multi-family dwelling on the northwest side of the city. Upon arrival, firefighters detected high levels of CO in the basement. The investigation suggested that the contractors that were working at the location were using equipment, which wasn’t properly exhausted. Firefighters ventilated the building down to zero readings and assured everything was safe for the occupants.
