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Regional fire chief visits Rimbey town council

Rimbey Volunteer Fire Department responding to a fire call about every three and a half days, 2015.

The activity report for Rimbey Volunteer Fire Department for 2015 shows the fire fighters responding to a fire call about every three and a half days.

Dennis Jones, Regional Fire Chief for Ponoka County, who attended the Jan. 25 council meeting, commended the Rimbey fire fighters for doing a great job.

“They are top notch fire fighters,” he said.

He noted 2015 was a transitional year for the fire department with Ponoka County taking over operation of the East District Fire Department (Rimbey) on May 1.

”The year, overall, ended with what cold be viewed as average,” he said. “No one type of call showed a major increase.”

He noted the Christmas season started off with a structure fire during the early morning hours of Christmas Eve Day.

“Thankfully the residents were able to get out safely as a result of working smoke detectors.”

The breakdown of fire calls for the Rimbey department shows 21 calls for structure or vehicle fires. Grass and rubbish fires garnered 14 calls, and there were 12 vehicle accident calls. The fire department responded to 13 service calls with other agencies such as RCMP and EMS and attended to eight public service calls including gas leaks, CO detector, rescue or downed powerlines.

False alarms accounted for 27 calls.

Total manhours reported are 1,094.

Of the 21 fire calls two were highway calls, one was in the Summer Village of Parkland Beach, three were in the Town of Rimbey and 15 were Ponoka County including Bluffton.

Four grass fires were reported in the town, nine in Ponoka County and one was a highway call. Five vehicle accidents were highway calls and five were in Ponoka County including Bluffton. Two were in the town of Rimbey.

Eight public service calls including RCMP and/or an ambulance were within the town of Rimbey, one was a highway call and four were in the county including Bluffton.

The majority of other service calls (six) were in the county, four were in town and one was in the Summer Village of Parkland Beach.

The majority of false alarms (18) were in the Town of Rimbey, eight were in the county and one was in Parkland Beach.

Jones told council fire halls being built at Meridian Beach or Parkland Beach are on the radar for the future. However, he said nothing is planned for 2016, but the issue could be addressed in 2017.