ESTEVAN - Estevan fire crews responded to two calls at the end of last week.
Last Friday at about 11:30 a.m., firefighters were called to the report of a down electrical line in the north-central area of Estevan. A piece of equipment that was being used to trim trees came in contact with a power line, tearing it down and causing some substantial damage to the power poles.
Fire crews set up perimeter control to ensure that no one was going to come into the area.
"SaskPower was already on scene, so we assisted with that to ensure there were no fires and the power’s neutralized. No injuries were sustained as a result," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
The power was out for up to 10 hours for some of the customers in the area, as SaskPower was repairing the system. There were some continued outages for SaskTel customers as well.
SaskPower reported the outage affected an area of about 1 1/2 blocks, and 15-20 customers were affected.
SaskTel media relations said approximately 100 customers were impacted. Internet and land line service was affected.
Most repairs were finished Saturday. A few customers were restored by Sunday afternoon.
The next call for service came in at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, when fire crews responded to a report of a commercial alarm occurring in the central area of the city. Firefighters met with the staff at the location. After clearing the building, they found out that low water pressure set off an alarm for the sprinkler system for the buildings.
There were no fire or emergency conditions present, so the scene was turned over to the maintenance staff in order to fix the problem.
With a winter storm watch in effect for southeast Saskatchewan Monday afternoon, Feser also reminds the public about the potential danger and appropriate actions in case of a weather emergency.
"There is an upcoming storm event. It sounds like it's going to start Tuesday evening, Wednesday and Thursday, and dissipate on Friday. Right now, we're still waiting to hear some further reports from Environment Canada, however, it is indicating that it's going to be a substantial system that's going to be coming into the area," Feser said Monday early afternoon.
"At this time, they're also indicating that road closures are almost a certainty.
"So we ask everybody to please prepare, get the medications and food supplies that you need. Please do not travel. Plan ahead. If you don't need to be there, do not be out on the roads as emergency services don't want to be out there any more than anybody else. And we don't have the provisions or special goggles that we can put on there that make us see any better than anybody else. So limit your movements in the area during this event.
"Stay safe, stay warm and please prepare and adjust everything accordingly," Feser said.
