The Williams Lake Fire Department attended 330 calls for service in 2020 according to Fire Chief Erick Peterson’s year in review report.
Of those calls the most common were commercial fire alarms followed closely by motor vehicle incidents and entrapments. The overall call numbers were:
- Fire Alarm Commercial – 67
- Motor Vehicle Incident or Entrapment – 64
- Fire Alarm Residential – 56
- Structure fire – 25
- Burning Complaints – 21
- Wildland Fire – 16
- Vehicle Fire – 15
- Smoke Report – 10
- Hazmat – 8
- Hydro Lines Down – 7
Burnt food was the leading cause of false alarms by far. Peterson says false alarms are tracked to see if one property is generating too many calls, and if so, hope to change behaviour and resolve the issue.
According to the report, the Williams Lake Fire Department started 2020 with 43 members but ended with 38. One member left due to work/life balance, and four others left due to work relocation. In 2021, the Williams Lake Fire Department will be looking to add 6-8 new members.