Pemberton Fire Rescue has responded to 35 false alarms this year, according to Fire Chief, Cameron Adams. None of the false alarms were connected to an actual fire.
“At a minimum, we would like to have at least eight responding to those. An alarm is not a false alarm until it is proven to be false,” said Adams. “We would want to attend to them like we would any actual report of fire.”
The multi-residential buildings are the ones that most commonly produce false alarms, he added.
“We are probably seeing an increase because our population is growing,” he said.
As of November 2023, Fire Rescue had responded to 41 alarm calls, 35 of which were false alarms. In 2022, there were 47 callouts with 40 deemed false alarms.
Adams said false alarms are a common problem across North America. They can result from various causes, such as someone pulling a fire alarm (typically kids in school), burned cooking, or problems with alarm panels.
Other challenges the crew faces were highlighted in Pemberton Fire Rescue’s 2023 Third Quarter Report.
One big hurdle is the fact many Pemberton firefighters have to hold down full-time jobs in other sectors, limiting the crew’s ability to attend daytime calls. Thankfully, the number of members has grown significantly since 2019, from 25 total members per year to 36 in 2023.
In both the VOP and Lil’wat Nation, the highest number of incidents were related to medical aid. The callouts for medical aid accounted for 37 per cent of the total number of incidents.
The Village of Pemberton had the highest number of incidents in the crew’s jurisdiction, accounting for 38 per cent of all incidents. Lil’wat Nation came closely second at 34 per cent. The regional district accounted for 17 per cent, and the broader fire district came in at 11 per cent.
The highest number of incidents per year happened in June of 2023, with 47 incidents reported. The lowest came in February, when the crew only recorded 21 incidents.
