Curious where those fire trucks were heading?
You may want to check out this interactive map provided by the City of Chilliwack. The Fire Department Incident Reporting map is available online, and plots out just what local firefighters have been busy with from month to month.
Users can select the data they want to gauge from a long list of call types, and choose a time frame. Icons then pop up on a map of the city, complete with boundary lines for the six different firehalls.
Firehalls 1 and 4 are the busiest halls, and public service calls are the number one task performed by local firefighters, slightly edging out burning complaints. But there are also numerous fire calls that keep them on task every month. On the map, they are divided into single family residential, multi-family residential, non-residential, vehicle, dumpter/recycling bin, and outdoor fires.
Non-fire incidents include vehicle incidents, burning complaints, public service events, and public hazard/rescue/hazardous material calls.
This October, for example, there were two single family home fires, two non-residential fires, six vehicle fires, two dumpster fires, and three outdoor fires to contend with.
The City says "an important aspect of a community risk assessment and management program is to compile and analyze fire incident data."
They use the information in their public fire protection strategic planning process to ensure they have adequate resources available to respond and mitigate fire related incidents.
The visuals help both the public and staff to "identify the frequency and types of calls for service in our 6 firehall response zones."
Click here to navigate to the Chilliwack Fire Department Incident Reporting Map.