False fire calls made up the highest number of calls that members of the Essex Fire and Rescue Service responded to in 2024.
According to the department's annual report, 19.5 per cent of calls last year, a total of 68, were false fire calls, down from 92 calls in 2023 and 79 in 2022.
Essex Fire Chief Jason Pillon says a lot of false alarms are related to new technology and fire and smoke alarm systems.
"Going to a false alarm response when it's something like that, like a dead battery or malfunctioning alarm, are the good calls we want to go to because we can rectify it," he says.
Pillon says they're fortunate that they get alarms donated to them, so if they find a faulty alarm, they can replace it.
"If we can help someone put up a new smoke alarm, that's what we're going to do. Obviously, our door is always open, and we're always ready to answer our phones if anybody needs help getting their smoke alarm checked, changing their batteries, or installing a new alarm. We're more than happy to do that for them," he says.
Pillon says they always want to make sure it's a false alarm, as a lot of those alarms can be a carbon monoxide false alarm.
"Their carbon monoxide alarm activates, chirps a couple of times. They're not sure why it activated. Number one, we want to get that checked anyways. Obviously, carbon monoxide is an odourless gas. You can't smell it, taste it, or see it. So if you think you have carbon monoxide, we definitely don't mind going out and checking those alarms to make sure you don't have CO in your home," he says.
In total, Essex Fire had a total of 348 incidents that were reported to the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office in 2024, marking a 12 per cent decrease from 2023.
In 2024, there were also 27 fire response calls, making up nearly eight per cent of the total calls, down slightly from 34 in 2023 and 38 in 2022.
Essex Fire and Rescue Services Essex Fire and Rescue has 63 paid volunteer firefighters and operates three fire stations in Essex, Gesto, and Harrow.