The Moose Jaw Fire Department responded to over 900 incidents in 2023, with false alarms being the most numerous issue members faced, according to a recent city council document.
The fire department handled 915 incidents last year — 41 were rural — with false alarms (306), service calls (142), fires (113) and motor vehicle collisions (101) making up the bulk of the responses, the fourth-quarter report said.
In comparison, the organization responded to 930 incidents in 2022 and 769 in 2021.
Meanwhile, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, the department responded to 232 incidents, with false alarms, service calls, cooking incidents, vehicle collisions, fires and EMS requirements forming most of the work.
In comparison, during the same time in 2022, the department responded to 267 incidents, and in 2021, it responded to 202 incidents.
Firefighters saved $22.2 million worth of property from fire destruction last year, while $688,000 was lost. In comparison, in 2022, those numbers were $2.3 million and $1.49 million, respectively, and in 2021, they were $7.1 million and $1.2 million, respectively.
The department held 144 public education activities last year, which reached roughly 6,933 people, the report said. Most of the activities were about school safety presentations, station tours, public relations events and school assemblies or pre-school or daycare talks.
Meanwhile, firefighters conducted 1,656 inspections in 2023, with inspections/consultations (882), in-company inspections (618), licensed home care inspections (59) and building plan reviews (47) making up most of the inspections.
In the fourth quarter itself, the department conducted 53 total public education events that reached roughly 2,062 people, while the total number of inspections during that time was 184.
In comparison, during the same time in 2022, 45 public education events attracted roughly 2,134 people, along with 319 inspections, while in 2021, 51 public education events attracted roughly 1,095 people, along with 254 inspections.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 11.
