Tillsonburg fire department had a busy four days

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg residents hearing emergency vehicle sirens last week may have thought firefighters were busy, and they were right.

Firefighters had a busy 96 hours from July 5 to 8 with 16 calls. Typically, the department has 1.5 calls per day on average.

Amongst the 16 calls were an industrial fire, a commercial smoke investigation that involved a pre-fire condition, a gaseous hazardous materials call, and several additional emergency calls.

Deputy Fire Chief Fred Ten Eyck said industrial fires have occurred before in this facility. He said there was no damage of note and the building was evacuated while the fire was being contained.

“They have an internal fire brigade that began fire suppression efforts,” he said. “We worked with them to finish this.”

Due to other calls at the same time, Tillsonburg requested one truck and firefighters from Courtland Fire Department for this call.

After firefighters left this call, there was a call for a commercial pre-fire situation. Ten Eyck explained there was an electrical shortage in which the breaker didn’t trip, and although a fire didn’t start, it could have if there hadn’t been intervention.

“If it wasn’t during the day, and it was at night, it would likely have been a fire,” he explained.

Ten Eyck gave credit to the firefighters during this period and to Courtland for the prompt response and support.

“The safety of our community remains our top priority, and we are grateful for the strong partnerships that help us maintain effective emergency response capabilities during periods of increased demand,” he said.