With today being First Responders Day, it’s comforting to know the Arnprior Fire Department trains rigorously, responds quickly- and keeps meticulous statistics to track its work.
On April 13th, Fire Chief Rick Desarmia provided his annual report to Town Council.
Desarmia thinks timely education can have a significant impact on workload.
The Chief says of the 207 call for service received in 2025, 99 were fire-related: 3 grass fires, 3 motor vehicle fires and 3 structural fires.
Desarmia advises total dwelling value loss was 1.1 million dollars last year- with average response time being 9 minutes, 17 seconds.
The largest of the three structural fires happened on William Street in the overnight hours.
Rarely, as in 2022, there were no structural fires in town- but the department practises regularly to stay at the top of their game, with training sessions every Wednesday night.
By Rick Stow
