Milton fire Chief Dave Pratt says the rise in the number of calls fielded by the department so far this year corresponds with the community’s growing population.
As part of the fire department’s semi-annual activity report, which covers Jan. 1 to June 30 this year, the number of calls for service totalled 926 — representing an increase of 87 incidents reported during the same period in 2017. The figure includes calls related to fires, false fire alarms and non-fire incidents.
The report was recently submitted to council as a means to inform councillors and the public about fire department-related activities and initiatives within the community.
The semi-annual report covers four areas: fire and life safety education, fire prevention, fire and rescue services and emergency preparedness.
Although the document stated the increase is largely due to false fire calls, motor vehicle collisions and other calls for public assistance, Pratt said the upward trend in call volume is a result of Milton’s population increase and requests for public assistance.
“Obviously, the more people that move into the municipality or drive through the municipality, there is going to be more incidents and accidents. As long as the community is growing the way it is, I think the number of incidents or requests for service are going to be increasing,” said Pratt.
He quickly pointed out that not every request for service necessarily warrants an emergency response, as the fire department also handles several public assistance calls.
This includes people having issues with their carbon dioxide (CO2) or smoke alarms, or if they have any safety-related questions when the department responds to a call.
“With more vehicles on the road, for example, we get called to more motor vehicle collisions. With more houses, we get called to more residences because smoke alarms are beeping and people don’t know why,” said Pratt.
Data the Milton Fire Department provided to the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and Emergency Management points to a rising trend of false alarms.
The local department received 240 false fire calls, an increase of about 23 calls, Pratt said, and amounted to 26 per cent of all service calls received in the first half of 2018.
Depending on the location of the alarm, the department could respond with two to six fire vehicles and eight to 20 firefighters.
“It seems to fluctuate; it seems to be cyclical. False fire calls can be residential smoke alarm activation, they can be an unknown smoke, where we go and can’t find a problem," said Pratt. "That ties into the population and the calls for service."
According to the report, fire losses in the first half of the year amounted to more than $3.7 million.
There were no fire-related fatalities, but there were three fire-related injuries to two civilians and one firefighter during this time.
Of the total 22 dollar-loss structure fires, 16 — or 73 per cent — were residential occupancies.
The format of this year’s report was altered to make it easier to read for council members and the public, Pratt said, as he wanted to tie it in to two things.
This includes the three lines of defence (public fire-safety education, fire -safety standards and enforcement, and emergency response) and legislation changes under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
“Although public reporting doesn’t start until 2019, I wanted to get ahead of the curve, to report to council and the public on how we do, how the department does in terms of meeting or compared against the standards,” said Pratt.
The Milton fire chief called it a “good news report.”
“I think we created a very educational document. It provides lots of good news, in terms of what the department does within the community, in terms of our responses, what we’re responding to, and educating,” said Pratt.
He called its public education the “biggest and best news” of its semi-annual report.
Staff participated in community events such as Relay for Life, which included as many as 40 workers — a “very proud moment for myself,” Pratt added.
The Milton Fire Department took part in 178 public education activities, including 130 child car-seat safety inspections, 15 fire-hall tours and 14 Grade 3 fire-prevention program events, which, altogether, drew nearly 4,000 participants.
Pratt also commended the department's staff for the number of hours they put into training for the service they provide.
“It’s exceptional. They provide an above-and-beyond standard of training, which expands into emergency response and the level of service we can provide to the community,” he said.
Link to original article in Inside Halton.com: Milton Fire Department sees rise in number of calls for service