CHATHAM-KENT (February 24, 2023) – The second significant storm of the winter has seen intense activity for CKFR and partners since Tuesday afternoon.
High winds and ice accumulations across the Municipality, especially the stations south of the 401. Over a hundred calls for service responding to downed wires, transformer fires and fallen trees saw several stations seeing high call volumes, 80 of which were attended on Wednesday evening as the storm peaked in Chatham-Kent.
During the event two house fires brought an additional strain, which were made more challenging by the weather events, reported no injuries and were quickly extinguished.
“Firefighters, dispatchers’ officers, and chiefs along with partners have shown tremendous efforts in protecting their community,” explains Fire Chief Chris Case. “I would like to thank them all for their dedication and perseverance in keeping their community safe during another significant weather event.”
On the front line of the event were fire dispatchers, who handled many more than their average calls for help from the community. Nearly 1500 calls were taken, including emergency and nonemergency calls through the dispatch.
Crews from Entegrus and Hydro One worked in difficult conditions to restore power, emergency management officers from the municipality and the province monitored the situation to respond to any significant community risks.
