ESTEVAN — Estevan fire crews spent about six hours at the multi-semi collision scene on Highway 39 on Jan. 15.
The accident occurred northwest of Estevan just before 9 a.m. Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies said crews responded a little bit slower than usual due to the road conditions after the freezing rain.
"Multiple semis were involved, no entrapments, no injuries. So crews just stayed on scene and dealt with traffic until the area was cleaned up and reorganized," Davies said.
He noted that three semis were directly involved in the collision, but a few more ended up in the ditch on both sides of the road.
Traffic was down to one lane for the first few hours. The Estevan Fire Rescue Service was assisting with traffic control on the east side of the incident, while the Midale/Cymri Fire and Rescue & First Responders regulated the flow on their side.
"Tow services were very busy too. So, for the safety of everyone involved and due to the road conditions, we just wanted to make sure that everything was good until that site was cleaned up," Davies said. "So, we worked in conjunction with Midale Fire Department to control traffic until we got one semi and some of the debris removed.
“And then we were able to open up two lanes of traffic but kept everyone on a very reduced speed and remained on scene doing that until tow services arrived and removed remaining semis off the highway."
Earlier last week, firefighters were also called to a semi rollover. The incident occurred on Jan. 10 at about 11:30 a.m. west of Estevan near the Village of Torquay.
"No entrapment, believed to be minor injuries, no hazardous materials or anything like that on scene. So crews assisted RCMP and EMS," Davies said.
The same day at about 5:30 p.m., crews were dispatched to a residential house on the northeast side of the city. The occupant of the building reported a burning smell but couldn't find the source and turned to the EFRS for assistance. Firefighters investigated and found a problem with one of the appliances in the house.
On Jan. 12 at about 8 a.m. a commercial fire alarm went off in a building on the northeast side of Estevan. The incident command responded. Building management was on scene, but they had nothing to report, and nothing was found, so the alarm was deemed false.
At about 11 p.m. the same day, crews were dispatched to a two-vehicle collision north of Estevan. Firefighters assisted Estevan RCMP and EMS. One driver with injuries was transported to hospital, Davies said.
