MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw and District Fire Department responded to over 900 calls for service in 2024, which is roughly the same number as in the past two years, data shows.
City administration presented a report during a recent city council meeting with information about the activities of city hall departments during the fourth quarter of 2024, along with data for the entire year.
Fire department
The fire department handled 906 incidents last year, with the top incidents being false alarms (333), cooking incidents (118), motor vehicle collisions (109), first responder EMS situations (81), service calls (78) and fires (70), with the most notable incident being the explosion at Capone’s Hideaway Motel that killed one person, the data showed.
In comparison, the department responded to 915 total calls in 2023 and 930 total calls in 2022.
By quarter, in 2024, Q2 had 242 incidents, Q3 had 241 incidents, Q4 had 216 incidents and Q1 had 208 incidents. In comparison, there were 232 incidents in Q4 2023 and 267 incidents in Q4 2022, the report said.
Meanwhile, of the 906 incidents, 32 occurred in rural areas; Q2 had the most incidents at 14.
The total value of incidents that the fire department handled last year was $1,265,700, with firefighters saving $881,380 in materials and fires claiming $384,320.
In comparison, in 2023, those numbers were, respectively, $22,924,399, $22,236,399 and $688,000, and in 2022, those numbers were, respectively, $3,814,600, $2,323,502 and $1,491,098.
Meanwhile, the fire department’s public education section held 58 events that reached roughly 4,700 people.
Also, for 2024, non-fire incidents that the department handled included:
- Inspections/consultations: 1,311
- In-company inspections: 506
- Licensed home/venue inspections: 37
- Complaints: 7
- File searches: 2
- Fire drills: 10
- Fire investigations: 10
- Building plan reviews: 48
Legislative and enforcement services
In the legislative and enforcement services department in 2024, employees:
- Executed 20 bylaws compared to 28 the year before
- Executed 172 agreements compared to 158 the year before
- Received and completed 28 freedom of information requests compared to 33 the year before
- Digitally archived 61 records compared to 507 the year before
Furthermore, the city clerk’s office initiated a project to modernize the indexing of signed agreements, with the goal being to “diarize expiry dates” in advance and notify the relevant departments before an agreement expires, the report said. Also, this project aimed to ensure that the department “retained critical knowledge” despite some employees leaving.
The report noted that by the end of 2024, the city’s “Notoriously Good Neighbour” program had operated successfully for two years and recognized 26 people or couples who had a positive effect on the community. The city partnered with the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce to promote this initiative.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 24.
