Community steps up after equipment stolen from Pike Lake fire hall

A Saskatchewan fire chief is grateful for support from the community after equipment valued at more than $20,000 was stolen from a volunteer fire hall in Pike Lake last weekend.

“They took almost all of our extrication equipment,” said Mike Given, chief of the Delisle & District Fire Department.

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“Our jaws of life was taken, our chainsaws, our halligan, our STARS landing kits. Any kind of tool that we would use, they took all of those.”

Given said calls for the fire department’s help won’t be impacted, as the main hall in Delisle is still fully equipped to handle any emergency work that needs to done But, he added, the theft could slow down the fire department’s response.

“Just the amount of time it’ll take to get those necessary tools to a scene is what’s going to be affected, because now we have to come from Delisle to go to Pike Lake instead of the trucks being right there in Pike Lake with everything that we need,” Given explained.

While they’re fortunate to have an extra set of tools in Delisle, Given said the robbery will have an impact on the whole community.

“We don’t have these tools just because we want to have them in the pool. We have them because we need them as part of our promise to our community members that we’re going to do everything that we can to keep them safe in their worst possible hour of need,” he said.

“It hits pretty close to home. It’s devastating.”

The fire chief said he’s reported the break-in and theft to the RCMP and an investigation has begun.

While Given the break-in is a first for the Pike Lake department, the crime marked the second time in the month that a Saskatchewan volunteer fire hall was burglarized. The first incident happened on December 16, when tools valued at roughly $3,000 were stolen from a fire hall in Vonda.

But despite the issues caused by the theft, Given said it didn’t take long before the surrounding community started pulling together to get the Pike Lake fire hall back on its feet.

On New Year’s Eve, Trans-Care Rescue, a fire and rescue equipment sales company based in Langham, was able to equip the Pike Lake fire hall with loaner tools – including a jaws of life tool – until replacements can be found.

Given said others in the area have been working to organize fundraisers like bottle drives to help get new equipment for their local fire hall.

He said it’s been great to see local residents stepping up.

“It’s an amazing thing to live in a community that at a moment’s notice will reach out to us and say, ‘Hey, how can we help?’” he said.