View Royal recently released monthly statistics thus far for fire rescue as well as its bylaw report for July and August.
Calls in numerous categories rose in 2017 while very few went down or stayed the same.
Total calls to date sit at 677. Each month so far this year has seen the amount of total calls rise except for July where there was a slight decrease.
There has been a total of 428 medical aid calls responded to and 55 motor vehicle crashes and rescues attended, according to the report presented to View Royal Council last week.
In terms of monthly calls, January saw the highest number with 106 while April and June saw high numbers as well with 91 and 94, respectively.
The department has seen an increase in calls every year since 2013. In 2013, there were 744 while 2014 had a slight increase to 759. There was a bigger jump in 2015 when there were 887 calls attended. There were 965 attended last year.
Fire Chief Paul Hurst said in the report they remained busy during July and August sending fire crews and emergency social services teams to the Interior for wildfire support.
A total of 20 firefighters and three officers were sent over the two month period. Crews spent time in Cache Creek, Kamloops, Clinton, 150 Mile House, Williams Lake, and Hanceville.
“The exposure and experience to large scale events will be invaluable for staff in preparing for any similar events on Vancouver Island,” Hurst said.
When it comes to bylaw numbers, View Royal has continued to see a number of parking complaints this year. So far there has been 49 complaints, down slightly from the 57 received during the same time last year.
There has been a total of 462 complaints received for the year to date. That’s up two from the same time period in 2016.