Thursdays and Saturdays were the most common days to have an emergency in Campbell River last year.
According to the fire chief’s annual report, the busiest days for firefighters were Thursdays and Saturdays, while the busiest time of day was between 12 and 5 p.m., with calls spiking at 2 p.m.
Firefighters from the downtown fire hall responded to 388 fire calls last year and 351 non-emergency fire calls. The Willow Point fire hall attended 124 fire calls and 108 non-emergency fire calls.
Sixty-eight per cent, or 2,033 of the calls firefighters responded to in 2015 were medical incidents while 27 per cent were fires and six per cent were motor vehicle incidents. Emergency fire calls were down slightly last year compared to 2014, from 528 calls to 512, while non-emergency fire calls (376 to 459 calls) and medical calls (1,661 calls to 2,033) increased over the previous year.
Fire Chief Ian Baikie said overall the fire department is getting busier and busier as the years go by.
“Campbell River Fire Department responded to 3,004 incidents in 2015 which represents a 17 per cent increase in call volume over 2014 and an average yearly increase in call volume over five years of 10.44 per cent,” Baikie wrote in his report.
At last week’s Tuesday council meeting, Chief Baikie said taxpayers are getting a good investment for their tax dollars.
Last year, the city’s combined fire insurance costs and fire protection costs were $9.32 million.
Baikie said that community fire insurance costs without fire protection would have been $15.18 million.
“If we didn’t have a fire department, we’d pay $7 million more collectively for insurance,” Baikie said.
“Well, that’s a big savings. A good investment,” Coun. Charlie Cornfield said. “Yes it is,” Baikie agreed.
Quick facts:
- Campbell River fire department has 20 career firefighters and one career fire inspector working out of the downtown fire hall.
- The department has 56 auxiliary firefighters operating out of both the downtown and Willow Point fire stations.
- The department responded to 3,004 total calls in 2015, up from 2,565 in 2014.
- $31.7 million in property value at risk saved from fire loss
- $1.5 million in property value loss
- 30 public education events put on last year
- Campbell River’s fire hall provides fire dispatch services to 50 fire departments in six regional districts. It dispatched 10,036 incidents in 2015.
