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CDES volunteers log 42.5 hours in one day

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Sunny South News

Members of Coaldale and District Emergency Services (CDES) were busy last Tuesday responding to three fires and one medical assist, according to a recent media release.

CDES first responded to a small non-dwelling structure fire Tuesday morning. A small chicken coop caught fire and spread to nearby grass and shrubs in Lethbridge County – three chicks perished in the fire and 10 firefighters responded and quickly extinguished the fire.

The next call came in as crews were returning to the station for a medical assist requested by Alberta Health Services EMS. CDES was later requested by Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services (LFES) to assist with a grass fire along Scenic Drive.

Several CDES units responded to the LFES and were quickly cleared once on the scene, as Lethbridge Fire had the fire contained.

Shortly after returning to the station, firefighters were called for an outdoor fire in Lethbridge County that was spreading out of control due to the strong winds. CDES came on scene and requested a water tender to respond from Lethbridge Fire for assistance. The fire was contained and extinguished by the crews in approximately an hour-and-a-half.

Overall, there were 42.5 hours of volunteer time put in over the day responding to these four calls, it was noted.

Fire Chief Kevin McKeown expressed his gratitude for the hard work put forward by Coaldale’s volunteer and career firefighters, as well as the support from local businesses that allow daytime firefighters to respond from work.

“We are fortunate for the high level of dedication and commitment our volunteer firefighters have in serving our communities,” stated Chief McKeown. “Especially during a day like (last Tuesday), when you’re running to calls all day. We are so thankful for the local business support – when you lose employees for the majority of the day, they lose productivity on their end. That is one reason the Town of Coaldale implemented the Volunteer Firefighter Business Tax credit last year, to acknowledge and thank our local businesses for their sacrifice.”

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