The Moose Jaw and District Fire Department was busier last year compared to the previous two years, while its call volume has now returned to almost pre-pandemic levels.
October 2022 was the first time since the pandemic began that the fire department could conduct an open house for fire prevention week, according to a fourth-quarter report presented during the recent city council meeting.
The emergency organization successfully hosted two days of open houses that saw eight schools — comprised of 566 pupils from prekindergarten to Grade 4 and 25 teachers — tour the fire halls.
Meanwhile, the fire department reached 2,134 people through safety education or public events from October to December last year. In comparison, that number was 1,095 during the same time in 2021 and 10 people during the same time in 2020.
In total, the fire department reached 3,646 people through safety education or public events last year, the report said.
Those activities included 57 fire safety school presentations, 12 station tours, four public relations events, four presentations about fire safety to special groups such as the Girl Guides, two adult fire safety programs and two presentations at school assemblies/preschools/daycares.
The organization conducted 325 inspections during Q4 2022, compared to 281 in Q4 2021 and 497 in Q4 2020. Meanwhile, it conducted a total of 2,091 inspections for the entire year.
The fire department responded to a total of 930 incidents last year — 41 were outside Moose Jaw — that included:
- False alarms: 310
- Fires: 96
- Cooking incidents: 67
- First responder EMS: 69
- EMS lift assist: 34
- Hazmat response: 6
- Motor vehicle collision: 121
- Carbon monoxide and other: 12
- Electrical: 65
- Rescue: 12
- Service calls: 138
In comparison, the organization responded to 769 total incidents in 2021, 786 in 2020 and 929 in 2019.
The value of property the fire department saved last year was $2.3 million, while $1.49 million was lost due to fire. In comparison, those numbers were $7.19 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in 2021 and $585,600 and $667,300, respectively, in 2020.
Also, the federal department Public Works Canada extended the fire department’s contract with 15 Wing Air Base for 2023. The contract is worth $1,258,996, while the federal department says this is the last allowable extension.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 27.
