ESTEVAN - Estevan fire crews responded to fires, alarms and collisions all within three days in the first few days of this week.
The first call for service came in on Monday at about 12:45 p.m. Crews were called to a wildland fire occurring about 10 kilometres west of Estevan on Highway 39. The fire was burning in the railway easement.
"We were able to successfully bring it under control quite quickly and extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire appears to be a hot rock or some sort of ignition source from the railway track from a passing train. It was contained to the easement with no damage to the farming land," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.
On Tuesday at about 6:30 a.m., another report of a wildland fire came in from the same area. Fire crews successfully extinguished the fire and checked out the tracks.
"The tracks were inspected from a distance without coming in contact, and we didn't see any major areas of concern with any shiny spots. Maybe it was just a flat wheel on a rail car. But in both instances it looks like the train had started the fire as it's passing through," Feser said.
No damage was done to the farmland in the area.
At about 3 p.m. that day, fire crews responded to an alarm that went off in a house in the northwest part of Estevan. The homeowner arrived shortly after firefighters made it on scene. Upon entry, firefighters couldn't find any reason for the alarm, but the homeowner indicated that they've had a series of issues with alarms, both security and fire, occurring in the last week, so they were working with the monitoring agency to rectify the situation.
At 8:30 p.m. fire crews responded to a vehicle vs. deer accident. There were no injuries as a result of the collision.
"We arrived on scene to find that the vehicle was still drivable, very minor damage. It appears that the deer had run off, so it did survive the collision. EMS was on scene; they treated and released the driver of the vehicle. The scene was turned back over to Estevan city police to further assist with traffic control," Feser said.
On Wednesday night, fire crews were called to what was initially reported as a vehicle and pedestrian collision, which occurred at the intersection of First Street and Thirteenth Avenue.
When crews arrived on scene, it was found that the 911 caller provided the wrong information.
"It sounds like an individual had been jumping on a vehicle. Estevan city police members were already on scene dealing with the situation. So fire services were not required for any further assistance and we returned to the fire station," Feser said.
On Tuesday night firefighters also held their training practising in vehicle extrication and working with fire extinguisher. Several candidates will undergo certification at the end of October.
