The LaSalle Fire Service had another busy quarter in the last three months of 2023, while arson investigators in Windsor had their hands full with a significant uptick in investigations.
It responded to 168 calls between October 1 and December 31, the busiest fourth quarter in the service's history.
In 2023, three quarters were the busiest on record, while the second quarter had the second-highest number of calls. The service responded to a total of 658 calls in 2023.
A third of calls in the final quarter of last year were for motor vehicle accidents, while 46 per cent were calls about alarms, smoke or carbon monoxide. The remainder of the calls were for fires, overheating or the smell of smoke.
It also carried out 210 resident smoke alarm inspections, tested 86 carbon monoxide detectors in 56 homes, and held 31 training sessions.
Despite the hectic activity, firefighters only responded to one fire in that quarter.
While the second quarter didn't break any records, firefighters still responded to 36 calls in February related to a devastating ice storm that cut power to much of Essex County.
LaSalle Fire Services has broken ground on a second fire hall, which should open early next year.
In Windsor, police investigated 89 intentionally set fires last year, an increase of 41.2 per cent from the year before when there were 63 investigations.
There were 12 in December alone, according to crime statistics presented at the last Windsor Police Services Board meeting.
