Members of the Norfolk County Fire Department have been busy throughout 2024.
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With almost an entire month left in the year, the department announced Tuesday that volunteer firefighters recently responded to their 1,000th call. It’s the busiest local fire crews have been since 2016.
Structure fires are up 10 per cent and remote alarms (systems in larger buildings) have increased 28 per cent over 2023.
“A lot of them are preventable,” said James Robertson, assistant fire chief. “A lot of times it’s a maintenance issue or an accidental alarm – they’re testing the system but forget to notify us, so crews are dispatched.”
Crews have also been called to a “significant” number of vehicle fires and collisions.
“We’re starting to get into the season where the roads are here. We want to notify the public to drive with caution, make sure you’re traveling at a safe and appropriate speed,” Robertson added.
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The stats also indicate some good news – burn complaints are much lower than in past years.
“This is a feather in our cap,” said Robertson. “We’ve done a lot of education with the public and social media messaging. That used to be one of our biggest call volume groups.”
In a typical year, calls to the department tend to increase in December as residents engage in both holiday and winter activities, with appliances like furnaces being turned on for the first time in months. Robertson urged all residents and business owners to ensure their CO2 alarms are in working order and to replace the batteries in all smoke alarms.
Recruitment remains strong
The fire department is having no trouble courting newcomers.
The NCFD puts out a call for volunteer firefighters in June each year. This past year, 68 people applied for just 15 available positions.
“Throughout the province, there are a lot of fire departments that are struggling with recruitment, but luckily Norfolk County is not one of those,” Robertson said. “We have a lot of dedicated individuals who are interested in helping out their community.”
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