This past month, your fire department has been kept hopping with eleven emergencies to report:

• In the early morning hours of May 19, crews were summoned to a Bentley residence where alarms were ringing. The home was checked with the department's gas detector and no elevated levels were found, so the homeowner was given a new carbon monoxide detector to replace the faulty one.
• On May 22 firefighters were called to aid Eckville with a structure fire in their area. Crews were stood down once the situation was believed to be under control.
• At 4:04 pm on May 23 ten members responded to a call of a structure fire in Gull Lake Village. A vacant detached garage was on fire and members vented a window and set up a positive pressure fan to allow the smoke to be directed outside while the fire was being extinguished. The contents of the garage were brought outside and documented and the RCMP conducted their investigation.
• Mid afternoon on May 25 six firefighters were called to a vehicle fire on Woody Nook Road and Twp Rd 40-0. A wheel loader was discovered parked on the shoulder and fully engulfed. The driver had safely evacuated so firefighters worked on putting out the blaze, which had ignited the grass in the ditch. Traffic was controlled throughout, the fire was quickly extinguished, and the roadway cleaned up and fully reopened.
• Another alarms call was received shortly after lunch on May 26. A rural residence was affected this time, and some vacuum cleaner dust had activated the touchy alarm. Crews were stood down once the alarm company had been in contact with the homeowner.
• At 6:16 pm on May 29 twelve firefighters raced to the intersection of Highways 12 and 20, where three vehicles were involved in an accident. A southbound vehicle on Highway 20 and a westbound vehicle on Highway 12 had collided, sending one of them into an eastbound truck and trailer on the west side of the intersection. Heavy traffic was on the roads this time of day so it was managed in all 4 directions while EMS attended drivers and passengers, none of whom were seriously injured. Belongings were retrieved by crews, vehicles were towed and the glamourous work of cleaning up the highways was completed.
• Another Mutual Aid call was received on June 3 at 7:40 pm, this time to Lacombe for a structure fire. Our Tender was requested, and was stood down once the situation was under control.
• On June 4 at 1:10 pm five members responded to a call of a hit and run involving three bicyclists on Highway 771. The cyclists were heading north and the centre individual had been struck from behind by a silver Dodge truck with extended sideview mirrors. The individual was thrown into the ditch while the truck driver continued north without stopping. The conscious patient was cared for until EMS arrival and information relayed to RCMP to assist with their investigation.
• At 10:32 pm on June 10 nine firefighters were sent to Gull Lake Village. A house was on fire behind the Wooden Shoe. Upon arrival the home was fully engulfed and a thorough check with neighbours assured crews it was unoccupied so a defensive attack was implemented in order to save the threatened houses on either side. Mutual Aid from Lacombe Fire was requested and more crews quickly arrived to help. Over four hours later the fire was finally extinguished using water and foam. A fire investigation is being conducted.
• On June 12, shortly after midnight, crews were called to an outside fire at a rural location south of Bentley. This was called in by a neighbouring landowner who was concerned about it spreading. As this fire was in an inaccessible location the person attending it was asked to put it out. The RCMP arrived on scene and the BFD left the incident in their command.
• And at 11:30 am on June 20 several members were called to the scene of a large outside fire on the property adjoining Sunset Legion Campground on the northwest side of Gull Lake. A massive load of dry leaves had been dumped over decades worth of rotted stumps, debris and actual bagged garbage over a steep, 30 foot embankment near the shore. This huge mess took several hours of filthy work to spread out and extinguish with the help of Moore's Backhoe Service (thanks Ross!) Rimbey Fire Department was called out to assist and we appreciate their help. Efforts were somewhat hampered by the steep terrain and dense tree and brush cover. Hopefully this will bring some attention to the blight on this otherwise beautiful area!