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The Dauphin Fire Department has released their year in review for 2021 and while 2021 was not their busiest year on record, it was an almost 20% increase in incidents as compared to 2020.
The highest number of incidents continues to be false alarms at 52 calls, which totals 26% of the total alarms.
The second-highest amount of calls continue to be vehicle collisions and for the first time since 2018 outdoor fires such as grass/field/brush and dumpster fires were in the top 3 which replaced the previous number 3 which was kitchen fires. With 2021 having been such a dry year, it is believed that was a large contributing factor in the increase in outdoor fires.
The DFD says there were over 5,700 hours in 2021 that were taken up by incidents with just over 1,500 in the RM of Dauphin and just under 4,000 in the city of Dauphin. 158 hours of that were spent helping neighbouring departments through the mutual aid system.
When the department wasn’t on calls they spent just under 2,500 hours on weekly training sessions which were held every Wednesday as well as some weekend training sessions held locally through the MB Emergency Services College including the following:
- 12 members who completed the Fire Department Safety Officer seminar (20-hour course),
- 5 who completed the Fire Ground Management seminar (18-hour course),
- 11 who completed the Rescue Practices (low angle rope rescue) seminar (18-hour course),
- 11 who completed the Pumps Basic seminar (18-hour course),
- 11 who completed the Pumps Advanced seminar (18-hour course), and
- 8 who completed the Emergency Vehicle Driving Skills seminar (18 hours).
This is an additional 1,068 hours of weekend training given by the members of the department to help prepare themselves to better serve the community.
On top of that, 3 members of DFD completed their Fire Fighting Level II (NFPA 1001) exams and 8 members completed their Driver/Operator (NFPA 1002) exams through the MB Emergency Services College in 2021.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
China has recently announced that they have joined South Korea in temporarily suspending imports of Canadian Beef.
The decision comes after the discovery of an atypical case of BSE in a cow from Alberta in mid-December.
Chinese customs has said that all beef and beef products from Canada will be stopped from coming in but hides will continue to be eligible for import.
According to Statistics Canada, the country’s beef exports to China in 2020 were over 100 million dollars while South Korea’s exports were just over 45 million dollars.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
Paramedics in rural Manitoba are quitting due to chronic understaffing that their union blames on changes to health care.
Bob Moroz, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, says new data shows too many ambulances are sitting idle due to a lack of personnel. The union, representing more than 800 rural paramedics, received a copy of the October 2021 Medical Transportation Coordination Centre Ground Report that pointed to the 17,000 hours of no ambulance coverage in rural Manitoba. This marks a five-year high with no signs of slowing down due to the increased need for ambulances in the province.
Shared Health admits the system does not have enough employees and throughout the Prairie Mountain Health Region, there have been days that see up to 40 percent shortages of staff compared to what is needed to cover.
shared Health says efforts are underway to recruit paramedics to reduce reliance on overtime or on-call staffing.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
The Manitoba Government has announced they are extending current health restrictions until February 1st. The restrictions were put into place on December 27th and were supposed to end on January 11th.
Manitoba's Health Minister Audrey Gordon says the province needs more time to assess the rapid spread of the Omicron variant before they can ease restrictions.
The restrictions include limits on public and private indoor gatherings. You can find a full list of the restrictions here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Dauphin Fire Department was called to a house fire on Jackson Street this morning. When they got there, they were met by the tenant of the basement suite who reported she smelled smoke coming from the suite above.
When they entered the upper suite, they found a fire in the living room and the rest of the unit was filled with smoke. One crew had the fire under control, while another crew made sure no one else was in the building. While there were no occupants located, the firefighters found a pet that they were unable to resuscitate.
The fire was determined to be accidental and caused by an electric heater coming into contact with something combustible nearby. The fire spread very fast prior to being called in but it was contained to the upper suite. There are no injuries as a result of the fire and no estimates on damages at this time.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Earlier this evening the Dauphin Fire Department responded to alarms at the Dauphin Medical Clinic.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, they were met by staff who reported the smell of smoke.
DFD searched inside the building as well as inspected the roof-top ventilation units and ultimately found a unit heater in the suspended ceiling that had experienced an electrical short.
Damage was limited to the individual heater with no damage to the surrounding area.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
City of Dauphin Mayor and Council are pleased to announce that Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation (MHRC) has approved the selection of three housing projects in Dauphin as recipients of MHRC’s Affordable Housing for Vulnerable Populations funding.
In 2021, Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation granted the City of Dauphin $714,600 to fund the development of affordable housing initiatives in our community.
After a rigorous process, the City selected the following organizations for the allocation of the funds:
- Habitat for Humanity Dauphin Chapter – $50,000 towards the build of their second home
- Dauphin Friendship Centre – $239,600 towards the construction of a new multi-unit dwelling for high-risk and emergent housing
- Parkland Crossing – $425,000 towards the development of the first phase of a 24-unit low-income housing project
As per the funding requirements, all projects are due to be completed by March 31, 2023.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The municipality of Harrison Park's council has voted to start enforcing a zoning bylaw that will put an end to short-term rentals in the area. The bylaw was already in place in the municipality, located south of Riding Mountain National Park, but was not being enforced according to council members.
As CKDM reported in December, counselor Craig Atkinson was bringing the motion forward because the rentals had become disruptive in the otherwise quiet community.
The bylaw states that short-term rentals are allowed if there is a resident living onsite, however many of the rental properties in the area do not have someone living there full time.
Atkinson is not looking to put the ban on all short-term rentals but believes having owners or operators of the rentals on the site will help cut down on issues raised by his constituents.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
On Wednesday afternoon Ste Rose du Lac RCMP received a report of a missing 30-year-old male from McCreary who was last seen at 2:00 am leaving a residence in the Ochre River area and was believed to be returning to his home in McCreary.
Officers were advised that his vehicle had been found on Provincial Road 582, located west of the community of Makinak.
Officers, along with numerous volunteers, conducted a search of the area.
After a check of the vehicle and of nearby homes they did not locate him and continued the search until approximately 8:00 pm, when it was called off for safety reasons due to the extreme cold.
This morning, officers from Ste Rose du Lac, the RCMP Search and Rescue team, RCMP Police Dog Services and volunteers resumed the search and he was located deceased approximately a kilometre away from his vehicle.
Ste Rose du Lac RCMP continues to investigate.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
The Dauphin Hospital Foundation has sent out its year in review and they want to thank everyone who supported the foundation over the past year.
The Foundation was over the moon in 2021 to accept an estate donation of $100,000 from Dauphin Resident Anne Stewart, who passed away earlier this year. Other large contributions last year came from the Dauphin Legion Poppy Fund for $8,600 and the Rorketon Drop-in Centre for $7,000.
It is due to donations like these that the foundation was able to purchase two large pieces of equipment for the Hospital totaling almost $61,000.
The foundation wants to recognize the unfortunate loss of two key supporters in 2021, Dr. Allen Lysack, and former City of Dauphin Board representative Mayor Allen Dowhan.
"Dauphin Regional Health Centre was always top of mind for them and they both worked in different, but important ways to ensure that DRHC was always striving to be the best it could be, we reflect fondly on the memories of their dedication and contributions," said Greg Thompson, Dauphin Hospital Foundation Chairperson.
The foundation will be meeting early in 2022 to review options for new equipment purchases, grants for health care workers to upgrade their skills, scholarships, and contribution funds.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
In the early hours of December 31, 2021, The Pas RCMP received a report that a truck was stuck on Clearwater Lake.
The three males inside were heading out to do some ice fishing when their truck broke down which caused them to become stranded and ill-equipped for the plummeting temperatures. The temperature at the time with the wind chill was -38.
The exact location of the stranded fishermen was unknown at the time and it was determined that a search and rescue team – consisting of four RCMP officers, an off-duty paramedic, and a conservation officer – would attempt to locate the missing males, two 18-year-olds and one 19-year-old, from Steinbach.
After searching a large area of Clearwater Lake, they were located in the northwest corner and transported back to safety.
The three males as well as some of the searchers suffered minor injuries due to the extreme cold.
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- Contributed by Eric Fawx
