Merritt fire department sees increase in calls in May

It was a busy month of May for members of the Merritt Fire Department.

At the Tuesday June 25, meeting of Merritt City Council, fire chief Dave Tomkinson reported that the department saw 101 calls for service during May, a noticeable increase from 72 (May 2023) and 67 (May 2022).

There were eleven false alarm calls during the month as well as a structure fire that sent two people to hospital with injuries. Tomkinson also noted that the department was able to close four-fire-investigations while two other investigations could lead to criminal charges.

However it wasn’t all bad news in May. Three new firefighter recruits completed Exterior Operations Level Training and 40 Fire Smart home assessments were completed as well.