NORTH BATTLEFORD ‑ It was yet another lengthy and grim update to council by Director of Protective Services Lindsay Holm regarding the activities of North Battleford Fire Department.
His report at Monday’s council meeting showed a stark increase in structure fires in the city for the first two months of 2022
According to the latest numbers there have been nine reported residential structure fires in the city: five in January and four in February.
That compared to five for the first two months of 2021, which had already been regarded by the department as a bad year for fires.
January also saw one commercial fire, and vehicle fires are also up so far this year to four from two.
Holm told council he was concerned about the trend.
“From a perspective standpoint, last year I believe we had 24 structure fires which was one of our busiest years on record, and within the first two months of this year we are closing in on halfway to that point. So, it has been an extremely busy year for us to this point.”
The largest response was the 102nd Street apartment fire on Jan. 3, in which the North Battleford, Battleford, and RM of North Battleford departments all responded. The reverberations from that fire are still being felt by the fire department.
The latest major response by the department was the house fire on Cousins Drive in North Battleford on Feb. 23.
The house was destroyed in the fire, and Fire Chief Holm reported he had to issue an immediate demolition order. The building was taken down the next day.
“It sustained some very significant damage and the walls were basically being held up by the rafters,” said Holm. “I was very concerned that if anybody entered that structure, we could experience a collapse.”
Mayor David Gillan commended the department for its response to the Cousins Drive fire. “It’s only a couple of doors down from Bready School. It could have been an even bigger disaster, but you guys did a great job dealing with that fire because there were some concerns about that fire.”
Gillan did ask about an “unofficial structure” going back up on the same lot. Holm said they would be working with that individual “to make sure he is not occupying that site without a house being on it with running water and functioning heat and utilities.”
