Beiseker Fire Chief Bob Ursu presented council with a year-end statistical report detailing the performance of the Beiseker fire department during a the Jan. 11 regular meeting.
The total volume of calls in 2015 was 177, according to Ursu. Ninety-four of those were fire rescue, 78 were medical and five calls were classified as “other.”
The station averaged a response time of four minutes and 45 seconds, with an average of five firefighters per call. Ursu said the time was quite impressive compared to the provincial average of 14 minutes in rural areas and seven to eight minutes in urban areas.
As the fire department experienced some trouble getting at least four bodies to man the station during weekdays, more firefighters were brought on board in 2015.
“We recruited another six to bring that up and have full coverage, 24/7,” Ursu said.
Ursu said with 37 working members – of which 29 are level two firefighters, four are emergency medical technicians, 31 are emergency medical responders and two are new recruits who have yet to book a shift – the station has almost reached its 40 member maximum.
The total number of in-station volunteer hours for 2015 was 28,000, with one volunteer putting in about 3,321 hours individually throughout the year.
Mayor Ray Courtman praised the fire department for the positive statistics.
“I thank them for the time and I sleep better at night knowing those guys are there and manning our hall,” he said.
Ursu also updated council on an incident that occurred at the station where hoses were moved from the compartment atop the engine to a rental – as the engine needed to go in for repairs – and the engine was inadvertently driven through the bay doors without anyone realizing the compartment doors were still open.
The doors caught the building and caused damage to the engine.
Beiseker Chief Administrative Officer Jo Lambert said the best guess at the moment for repairs, without an official estimate, might be somewhere in the $10,000 range.
“They didn’t realize the doors were open,” Ursu said. “Accidents happen, I guess.”
Proposed speed changes
After many years of requests, Alberta Transportation has sent the Village report of recommended speed changes along Highways 72 and Highway 9, according to Lambert.
The current on Highway 72 on the west side of the village goes from 100 km/h to 50 km/h and the report recommended creating a zone that moves from 100 km/h to 80 km/h before gearing down to 50 km/h.
The current speed along Highway 9 by the Esso station fluctuates from 80 km/h to 70 km/h back to 80 km/h and Alberta Transportation has proposed a unified speed of 70 km/h along that stretch of highway.
Now that council has approved the plan, Lambert said it is up to Alberta Transportation as to when the changes are made.
“I’m happy to see that they proposed something, finally,” Councillor Karen Ursu said.
