Firefighters at the scene of fire off Railway Ave. E. last week. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

FIRE RESPONSE

Fire Department upset people ignored blockades during fire in North Battleford

Mar 13, 2024 | 12:14 PM

The North Battleford Fire Department is concerned about many people who ignored blockades during the large autobody shop fire at 832-104 Street in North Battleford on March 7 and into the morning of March 8.

The building looks onto Railway Ave. E. where there was a high degree of traffic the evening of March 7 as many onlookers came out to see the blaze.

North Battleford Councillor Bill Ironstand said at this week’s meeting he heard reports the public was “rubber-necking, creating traffic jams, creating access issues for emergency first responders.”

He said it puts other responders and the other public in danger when people don’t obey the blockades or follow directions during an active fire.

North Battleford Fire Chief and Director of Protective Services Lindsay Holm said the city undertook some enforcement work.

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“We did have some traffic issues,” he said. “We tend to have a few issues at any fire, just because the streets get blocked off, and people are used to driving their certain route.”

Holm noted the department had “significant issues” in the last couple of fires, with people also driving over fire hoses, which are expensive equipment for them.

“Those tickets [fines] are fairly sizable,” he said. “They’ll hit your pocket pretty hard. We are actively enforcing on-scene. We do have RCMP that will be protecting our scenes, and our CSOs [enforcing]. If people are not obeying directions from the firefighters or driving over our fire hoses, they will be pulled over and taken in.”

Holm noted the fire dept. had one lane closed off at last week’s fire and people still tried to get into the lane.

“We did have officers ticketing quite heavily that day,” he said.

Holm added that driving over a fire hose puts lives in jeopardy and noted that the cost of fire hoses is about $1,600 now, so it’s a large price to the fire department.

“If that gets punctured or cut that will jeopardize my firefighters’ safety and has the potential to jeopardize the public’s safety,” Holm said.

Penalties

The city says under Bylaw No. 1946 Schedule “F” the following tickets could be issued to drivers who bypass barricades or drive over fire equipment.

· Operating a vehicle on a temporarily closed public highway: $300.

· Parking or stopping within a temporarily closed or restricted public highway: $150.

· Driving across or stopping on fire equipment: $500.

Depending on the severity of the offence, a person could be fined up to $10,000 for the infraction.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsnow