The North Battleford Fire Department has seen a decline in reports for needle pick ups for the year to date. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Sharp count

Increase fires, collisions and decrease in sharp pick-ups for N.B. Fire Department

May 27, 2020 | 5:29 PM

The North Battleford Fire Department is noticing a sharp decline in calls for discarded needles for pick up, while there was an increase in calls for vehicle collisions and structure fires.

Fire Chief Lindsay Holm gave his latest report covering January to April at council this week. Total calls were down for the period at 152 for the current year to date, compared to 186 for the same time last year.

There was a total of 60 calls for needle collections received for the current year-to-date compared to 84 for the same time in 2019. In total there were 269 reports for the 2019 year overall. Among the tally for needles picked up, March stands out with 188 collected for the month in 2020, compared to 4,285 for March alone in 2019.

“I think it is a positive sign right now, just because it has been a long time since we have had a drop in our needle pick-ups,” Holm said. “It was something I was quite happy to see when I was going through our statistics in compiling my report.”

The fire chief is uncertain of the cause of the decline but hopes the trend will continue.

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While it’s early in the year he surmised having more families remaining in their residences due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be a factor in the reduced reports for pick-ups.

“If we see that downward trend continuing, then I would think it would possibly have something to do with people being at home more,” Holm said.

Motor vehicles collisions increased for the period in various categories where the fire department assisted.

Holm said more collisions often occur at this time of the year. When spring arrives, more people are traveling and perhaps not being as careful as they should be.

“Right after winter, the roads are a little bit clearer and it can cause people to have a little bit of a false sense of security and drive a little bit faster,” he said. “As a result, there are probably more collisions.”

For residential structures fires, the report showed North Battleford saw an increase, at six reports for January to April this year compared to four for the same time last year

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW