Property fires are the largest source of fire calls here, Minto Fire Chief Chris Harrow reported at the Jan. 22 Minto council meeting.
“Property fires are our number one call out,” stated Harrow in his annual report to council. “That’s very rare for a fire department,” he added noting proximity to local ambulance bases means Minto handles fewer medical emergencies than many departments.
The Minto Fire Department handled 200 calls in 2012, with the Palmerston fire station called to 70 incidents, the Harriston station 81 and the Clifford station 49. The Minto department also responded to six calls in North Perth and 11 in Howick.
Firefighters logged over 1,060 hours attending calls, Harrow noted.
A breakdown of incidents shows local firefighters responded to 45 property fires in 2012. The next highest call trigger was rescues, at 40. False fire calls accounted for 32 call outs, while medical calls accounted for 30.
Regarding the number of false fire calls, Harrow explained “cell phone callers are a huge problem. They call it in and they don’t stop, they just take off, so we have to go on a wild goose chase.”
Harrow said policies are in place to charge for false alarms, “If it’s a constant problem and it’s the fault of the building owner.” In that case, the building owner would be invoiced $410 per truck per hour.
Of the call outs, 81 occurred during daytime hours, a figure that Harrow expressed some concern about.
“The more people that we have on staff that work out of town, the less people we have to respond during the daytime, the more this can become a problem,” he said. However, he added that anytime there is a fire, two stations are automatically sent and other protocols are in place to ensure there are enough firefighters available to operate safely on any given call.
A three-year comparison of calls shows the department handled 185 calls in 2010 and 166 in 2011. Harrow noted “there is no trend,” and that call levels fluctuate based on random factors.
Harrow reported the department provided over 140 hours of training for firefighters in 2012. He noted budget overruns occurred in this area “due to the amount of training we undertook trying to get new firefighters up to speed.” However, he noted the department is now “well prepared for some pending retirements.”
Other areas of cost overruns in 2012 included uniforms, repairs and maintenance and wages. However, Harrow said spending was cut back in other areas in order to come in on budget.
The department is moving forward with initiatives in the areas of marketing and branding, and social media.
Social media campaign
In 2012, the department began using Facebook and Twitter to reach the public with messages on various safety campaigns, under its “Minto Fire” banner.
By establishing their own brand, Harrow noted, “We’re not trying to distance ourselves from the town.” He explained the aim of much of the town’s social media and public awareness activity concerns economic development, while “ours is to get public education out there.”
“We can get our message out there and get it done with the public at a very economical price,” using various forms of social media, he pointed out.
Harrow estimated the Minto Fire reached around 3,500 people with their holiday fire safety campaign through Facebook and currently has around 125 followers on Twitter.
