Burns Lake Fire & Rescue Department (BLFRD) is setting records this year for call-outs.
One of the factors skewing the numbers has a sad source.
“We are now sitting at over 23 calls this year to one address,” said Rob Krause, director of protective services for the Village of Burns Lake. The reason for so much focus on the one home is “an emotionally disturbed person who called us 24 times in the past 11 months to say that the house is on fire. They come in literally at every hour of the day and night.”
First responders dare not chance that a fire report isn’t real, in most circumstances, even if they know the chances are unlikely. In this case, that concern dovetails into worries and general understanding of this particular resident’s state of mental wellbeing.
Krause said consultations were underway with people who might be able to intervene in the resident’s actions. The home in question is on the property of the Lake Babine Nation so the two levels of grassroots government are collaborating on possible solutions.
“It doesn’t solve the problem but we may have to look at implementing our false alarm bylaw on this property,” said Krause. “It is costing us a significant amount of money, not to mention the inconvenience. The last time was Remembrance Day at two in the morning. So that is 20 responders being woken up at 2 a.m.”
False alarm fees can be charged, per Bylaw 1036 Schedule E (Protective Services).
Apart from the one address where mental health circumstances must be considered, another large source of call volumes are medical incidents.
When looking at the overall numbers, “as of today [Nov. 15], we are at 183 this year, which is 20 over our all-time record and 30 over last year, with six weeks to go,” Krause calculated. “We will break 200 calls this year, for the first time in the history of the department.”
The call volume for October by itself was 15 calls “with medicals and false fire alarms by far leading the way.”