After a recent quiet streak, the Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) had a busy end to last week with numerous calls.
The most significant call for service came on Saturday. At about 1:30 a.m., fire crews were dispatched to a shop fire, occurring in the RM of Cambria south of Macoun.
"When we arrived on scene, we found a fully involved shop. The Midale fire department was mutual aid, called in for assistance and manpower resources," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser. "The shop was a total loss upon arrival."
Crews worked extensively to bring the fire under control to prevent it from spreading to other areas and buildings on the property. While nobody was injured as a result of the fire, the family dog didn't make it out of the shop.Â
"Sadly, the family did lose the cherished family pet in the shop. During the investigation component and cleanup we were able to recover the remains of the pet and turn it over to the family members," said Feser.
"At this time the cause of the fire has been deemed that there were combustible items in close proximity to a heat source. The heat source being a smoker that was being utilized in order to cure and smoke meats. The homeowner said that he set his alarm for one o'clock in the morning to check on the smoking process. When he woke up, the shop was already on fire. At that time he placed the 911 call."
Estevan fire crews spent approximately four to five hours on the scene and then returned to the station.
Last Thursday, firefighters also responded to a wildland/field fire just north of the city, which was set by a lightning strike.
"Crews were able to come in and quickly contain and suppress the fire without incident and returned to the station in under an hour," Feser said.Â
The next call for service came in on Friday at about 2:30 p.m. A commercial fire alarm went off in the central part of Estevan. Shortly after the crews were dispatched to the location, the manager of the facility called to inform them that water was leaking on a detection device, which shorted it out and caused the alarm, so crews stood down and returned to the fire station.
Less than an hour later, the EFRS members were on the go again, as they were dispatched to a reported four-vehicle collision in central Estevan.
"Once crews arrived on scene, it was learned that two vehicles had fled the scene reported by one of the drivers. The two remaining drivers, the vehicles, were isolated and the EMS checked and released both drivers on scene. We provided traffic control. Both vehicles were still in a drivable state so we were able to get them off the roadway surface and open up traffic. And EPS took over the scene at that time to continue to investigate the cause of the collision," Feser said.
The further investigation suggested that there were only three vehicles involved with the accident, and the third driver later turned themselves in to EPS and was co-operating with the investigation.
 Later that evening fire crews also responded to an EPS assistance call.
"They had a 911 call and they couldn't gain access to the occupancy, and the staff at the occupancy was not answering the front door. So quick thinking on their behalf, they saw the fire department lockbox there so the fire department could come down and open up and allow them access to the building. But the staff allowed them access just shortly before Estevan firefighters' arrival. So we just made sure that they got everything that they need and we returned to service shortly after that," Feser said.
Saturday afternoon at about 5:30 p.m., the EFRS members were called to a residential fire alarm going off in the north-central part of Estevan. It turned out that the homeowner just recently installed a security/smoke alarm system and was unaware that it was being monitored. Excess smoke produced by cooking set off the alarm.
"There wasn't enough smoke remaining in the home to warrant any ventilation on behalf of the Estevan fire department. So the scene was turned back over to the homeowner with a reminder to contact their service provider to ensure that they're the first point of contact in the event of an alarm," Feser said.
Estevan fire crews were also occupied Saturday and Sunday nights for approximately four hours a night, providing fire suppression at the Estevan Motor Speedway program.
