Battleford Fire Department. (Town of Battleford/ Website)

By Alyssa Rudolph

2025 fire records

Record-breaking year: Battleford Fire Department sees rise in calls for service

Jan 20, 2026 | 5:03 PM

The Battleford Fire Department recorded 135 calls for service in 2025, marking an increase of 58 calls over the previous year.

Fire Chief Larry Gabruch, said last year the department established a record for calls.

“The previous record that was held was dated back in 2018. Of the 135, 78 were within our own community and 57 were within the R.M. of Battle River,” he said.

Battleford Fire Department received 11 calls due to carbon monoxide within the town, something Gabruch noted was above average.

“Part of that is attributed to having plug-in carbon monoxide detectors in service now for north of five years or even 10 years. The lifespan of those instruments begin to fail after five years. So, we’ve been endeavoring to try and educate the public,” he said.

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However, carbon monoxide detectors are not the only instruments causing false alarms for the fire department. Over the year, 32 false alarm calls were made in the community, mainly involving monitored systems.

“What occurs is the monitor alarm is set off for various reasons. It could be steam from showering or often it’s cooking incidents.”

“Often when the alarm company endeavors to contact the key holder, they don’t answer their phone or their cellphone’s shut off. We do not roll any equipment or manpower until the key holder has at least been attempted to be contacted,” Gabruch said.

In the R.M. of Battle River, 32 of the 57 calls were due to vehicle accidents.

‘We have to recognize that we do provide service to four highways. The population in the R.M. and in our neighboring First Nations continues to grow. So, the volume of traffic continues to grow,” Gabruch said.

Mayor Ames Leslie added there was one number that particularly stood out to him, 16 calls for grass or bush fires in the R.M.

“I knew it was a drier year, but it felt like it rained enough that we’d necessarily didn’t have that many. So that one was a little bit of a surprise. It went to show it was drier than a person thought,” he said.

The Battleford Fire Department is still seeking volunteer members. Volunteers do not need to live within town limits but must reside in the surrounding area.

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Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com