The Moose Jaw and District Fire Department responded to four calls involving hazardous materials during this year’s third quarter, with some of those calls focused on picking up dirty needles.
These four calls are a dramatic decline compared to previous third quarters, as the fire department responded to 40 such incidents during Q3 2020 and 54 calls during Q3 2019, a council report explained. Meanwhile, the total number of hazmat-related calls to which the department has responded this year is 10.
“I would think this (decline to four) is good news, but I wonder why it’s so low,” said Coun. Crystal Froese during the recent city council meeting. “Are other people looking after picking up needles?
Fire Chief Rod Montgomery explained that one reason for the decline is how needle pickup is now being reported to the provincial government.
He pointed out that since there isn’t an incident category to reflect needle pickups, the fire department will report this issue under the service calls category in the future. The department is also working with the province to enhance fire-related recordkeeping with this issue.
“It is not a hazmat issue; it’s a criminal activity,” Montgomery added. “Those aren’t people who are diabetic dropping needles.”
Other data about the fire department’s activities during the third quarter of 2021, 2020 and 2019 showed:
- False alarms: 74 / 102 / 78
- Fires of all kinds: 28 / 50 / 35
- First responder EMS: 12 / 8 / 12
- Malfunctioning equipment: 0 / 1 / 54
- Motor vehicle collisions (MVC): 26 / 21 / 26
- Carbon monoxide, other: 1 / 1/ 1
- Electrical: 9 / 4 / 0
- Rescues: 3 / 5 / 3
- Service calls: 53 / 15 / 7
Year-to-date, there have been:
- False alarms: 218
- Fires of all kinds: 93
- First responder EMS: 23
- Hazmat: 10
- Malfunctioning equipment: 1
- MVC: 76
- Carbon monoxide, other: 8
- Electrical: 31
- Rescues: 13
- Service calls: 94
- Total incidents: 567
Meanwhile, the fire department has responded to 42 calls for service in the rural areas. This number is included in the total incidents for this year.
Also of note, both school divisions have approved the restart of the fire department’s school safety program. This means the public education officer can return to schools to educate youths about fire-related issues.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 6.
