Call volumes are dropping for the Parksville Fire Department.
Chief Doug Banks gave his annual report to city council, explaining that calls have been dropping steadily from a high of over 500 in 2008 to 414 in 2011, of which 304 were emergency calls.
“Our fire prevention officer is happy to take credit for the drop,” Banks quipped as he explained they don’t know the exact reason but it likely has to do with improved education, awareness and building and safety standards.
Alarms accounted for the highest number of calls, at 90, of which many were “false alarms” which Banks said is a misleading term, since in those cases “the alarm systems have done their jobs,” in alerting the fire department.