False fire alarms continue to make up a large portion of Moose Jaw Fire Department responses to calls, according to the department quarterly report.
Just over one-third of the 807 responses to calls were false alarms in 2018. Numbering 311, these calls almost averaged one a day.
During the last three months of 2018, the department responded to 12 smoke alarms from cooking calls and 14 faulty detector calls.
A new bylaw fines occupants/owners after two nuisance false alarms. The fine is $300 with a $500 fine for a fourth one in a 12-month period.
As many as 18 properties would have been fined in the year before the fines were adopted by council.
Motor vehicle collisions accounted for 132 calls in 2018 with rubbish fire calls reaching 115. The department responded to 67 emergency medical service calls.
Twenty-six responses were to malfunctioning equipment with 13 rescues.
Four calls involved carbon monoxide and 21 service calls were made during the year.
Fire calls by the department saved $4.1 million in property with $110,000 losses in the city.
Losses after department rural responses amounted to $1.13 million.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
