Time saves: Fire Chief wants residents to call for help sooner

Regional Fire Chief Shayne Milliken is warning residents to take care when smoking outdoors after fire crews were called to a structure fire near Andrew on Apr. 12. The fire, caused by the tossing of a cigarette butt, resulted in significant damage to the homeowners’ property.

“In this case we were looking at approximately $10,000 to $20,000 in damages,” said Milliken. At least one structure was lost as well as other debris nearby in the yard.”

Milliken added that the fire festered for nearly 10 minutes before a passerby notified emergency personnel. Crews from Lamont and Bruderheim arrived on the scene within 15 minutes. 

“The individual in this case did not call 911 at all and tried to put out the fire on their own which was not successful,” he said. “Had we been called sooner we probably could have stopped it from spreading as far as it did. It had spread quite far into the yard already.”

Milliken shared why some residents may be hesitant to contact 911 in these cases.

“In a rural setting it’s not uncommon to see smoke now and again particularly with brush piles and burn permits,” he said. “So, I think there could be a bit of ‘this might be normal and I don’t want to bother anyone’. And it’s something we have been told by people sometimes when we come.”

While some people may be hesitant to call for help, Milliken wants to reassure people that it’s the best thing to do.

“It’s never a bother. The best-case scenario is we get there and we don’t have to do anything,” he said. “But if you see something that is not right, it’s best to just call. Don’t call your friends, don’t call family members and ask what to do, just call 911. The delay in calling is the difference we see between a one-hour fire and a six-hour fire.”

In the case of this fire, Milliken said crews had it under control quickly.
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“We had this fire under control within 10– 15 minutes and out completely within three hours. There were several debris piles to work out,” he said. 

While the cost of fighting a fire from natural causes is absorbed by the county, Milliken said fires that are caused by human error will be charged back to the land owners.

“There is a fee for service, usually covered by their insurance company. It’s as per our bylaw, when the cause is connected to the owners. It’s nothing crazy and only meant to offset some of the cost. Most of the time the bill is $1,500 or less. But the maximum that we are allowed to charge under our bylaw is $10,000,” he said.

Milliken also shared the current status of fire bans in the Lamont county area.

“Up until Apr. 15 we had just a fire advisory, but now we have fire restrictions which basically prohibits the burn permit program so no controlled burns, and no setting off of fireworks. It’s a dry season,” he said. “I would be very surprised if we were not in a fire ban in the next week or two. But at this point the conditions don’t quite warrant that yet.”

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Jana Semeniuk

Staff Reporter