False alarm at the Holiday Inn Express in Bonnyville

A recent alarm at the Holiday Inn Express has been coded as a false alarm by the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BFRA).

On February 16, Station 5 Bonnyville responded at 8:30 p.m., to alarms ringing at the Holiday Inn Express. It was discovered that a pull station had been activated. RCMP were notified and were investigating when crews departed the scene.

“There were no signs of a fire and no smoke so it will be coded as a false alarm,” Regional Fire Chief Dan Heney of the BRFA said. “However, it’s not our place to determine accidental or malicious which is why the RCMP are involved.”

Regional Fire Chief Heney said the most significant impact of a false alarm is that it puts the trucks and crews in a position known as “out of posture”. This means while the false alarm is being investigated, those trucks and crews cannot respond to another call until they have determined it was indeed a false alarm.

“The hypothetical other calls would have to wait for more crews to arrive at the hall and respond in another truck,” Regional Fire Chief Heney said.

In many of the BRFA stations, there are multiple trucks available so the impact would only be limited by the available crews but in a station like Station 7 Fort Kent and Station 8 Ardmore, there is only one truck available from each station and they often respond jointly.

“If those crews are busy with a false alarm, the response has to come from another station which adds more of a delay,” Regional Fire Chief Heney said.