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Battlefords RCMP sets up First Nations policing unit
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Fire Destroys Battleford Esso Car Wash
To start Feb. 1 By John Cairns Staff Reporter
Insp. Tom Beck of Battlefords RCMP detachment told North Battleford city council Monday one of the initiatives coming in 2021 is the creation of a First Nations Community Policing Unit. According to Beck, this First Nations unit will be starting Feb. 1 and would be providing enhanced policing to their neighbouring Indigenous communities. It would consist of a corporal who would also act as liaison to Red Pheasant and Mosquito, as well as one member from Sweetgrass and one from Moosomin/ Saulteaux who both will be assigned directly to the unit. A public services stenographer will also be assigned to help with administrative duties with the unit. The intention is to staff the unit with Indigenous members as much as possible. The statistical report for 2020 was also presented to council by Insp. Beck. The final numbers for the North Battleford RCMP
detachment are in and they indicate that calls for service are ahead of last year. According to those final numbers for North Battleford in 2020 there were 16,147 calls for service, up 12 per cent from 14,385 the year before. Total files are 15,394, up from 13,697. Here are some year-todate numbers for 2020. Persons offences stood at 1,193, up from 1,065 for a 12 per cent increase. Break and enters were down across the board, with business B and Es down from 52 to 48, residential B and Es down from 227 to 202, and other B and Es down from 57 to 38. Property offences were up eight per cent from 2,946 to 3,193, while drug offences were up 20 per cent from 124 to 149. Criminal code offences are down three per cent, from 2,271 to 2,196. Traffic offences were up from 250 to 256. Impaired operation of motor vehicle offences are up 59 per cent from 172 to 273. Provincial traffic offences are down 23 per Continued on Page 5
A fire has destroyed the car wash at the Battleford Esso station in Battleford. Photo by Averil Hall
Firefighters battle blaze at -40 By John Cairns Staff Reporter
A massive overnight fire has destroyed the car wash at the Battleford Esso station off Highway 4 in Battleford. The Battleford Fire Department was on the scene with a full complement of 20 firefighters to battle the blaze. Fire Chief Larry Gabruch reports they received the call of a structure fire at 12:11 a.m. Tuesday morning. Upon arrival, Gabruch reported, the northern wash bays had fire extending through the roof. They were able to contain the fire to the wash bay area with only a minor breach into the store area.
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as well. Gabruch said the roof collapsed shortly after fire crews arrived. He believes the fire was burning for some time before someone recognized it and called it in; and was probably not recognized until it breached the roof. After they arrived, the fire crews concentrated their efforts on keeping the fire from getting into the store area. The likely suspected cause of the blaze, said Gabruch, was a unit heater that was lit in the wash bay area which likely malfunctioned. “Its proximity to where the initial flames breached the roof, those dots kind of line up,” said Gabruch.
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Three engines worked the fire, and the firefighters stayed on the scene until 5:30 a.m. There was a sense of urgency to fight the fire because of the proximity to the fuel tanks. As a result, two engines were deployed on the east side and west side of the building to ensure they could provide cover for those fuel and propane tanks nearby. The cold conditions and the damage at the structure made it a challenge for fire crews throughout. Gabruch said that after the roof collapsed they had difficulty getting to the hot spots. One wash bay nearest to the store had a car in it and the car is a total loss
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That is not yet confirmed as the cause, but Gabruch, said that until the weather warms up and they are able to deice and look at that appliance, plus get some assistance from the gas inspector, that is the best guess. “It’s rare for a unit heater to do that, but I don’t believe in coincidences and the fact that that unit heater was fired up earlier that day caught my attention,” said Gabruch. He also said nothing else was located in the wash bay that could have caused the fire to ignite. As for the one car in the wash bay area, that was located away from Continued on Page 5
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