Bentley District Fire Department

Volunteer | Dedication | Perserverance

The Bentley District Fire Department is comprised of 17 committed volunteers, dedicated to serving our community. Since its establishment, the Bentley Fire Department has continued to preserve the safety and security of community members within its 1000 sq km area district. From fighting fires, to medical emergency responses, and motor vehicle accidents, our volunteers are highly trained and experienced to react and aid in many emergency situations. Training every Monday night as well as some weekends and responding to over 70 emergency calls per year, the Bentley District Fire Department's volunteers devote their lives to helping others.

This past month has been an extraordinary one as all six emergencies have been electrical hazard calls:

July 18, 2017  /  Rhonda Gustafson

On May 24 a violent storm passed through Lacombe County wreaking havoc on buildings, fences and especially power poles and lines. Fire Departments were kept desperately busy County-wide and Bentley was no exception

  • The first of five calls that day came in at 3:34 pm from the Summer Village of Gull Lake with reports of multiple power lines down. Fortis was alerted and BFD members secured the affected area while awaiting their arrival. Firefighters were released and the scene was turned over to the area foreman.
  • Midway through the first call another was received with a report of a tree falling across a power line, this time on Highway #12 and RR 2-0. Five members investigated, the utility company was notified and this event was deemed a non-emergency which could be dealt with later as many more calls were waiting;
  • At 4:17 pm another tree was reportedly down on another power line, this time in Bentley near the library. The caller had remained on the scene and had seen sparks issuing from the line but fortunately no one had been injured.
  • At 5:01 pm a passerby called in that yet another batch of trees had come down taking a power line with it. This one occurred on Aspelund Road near RR 1-1. The line was apparently down near a water source so extra caution was exercised.
  • And the last call of the afternoon came at 7:06 pm with yes, you guessed it, another tree down on a power line, this one close to a home on a rural property just east of town. No one had been injured but the large tree had been completely uprooted taking the overhead line with it. The line had started sparking as the power returned so again the utility company was notified and the area kept clear.
  • On May 31 at 4:48 pm another electrical hazard was reported, this time on Twp Rd 41-2, west of Hwy #20. Nine members were sent to investigate a downed live power pole in the north ditch encroaching onto the roadway. By this time an impressive thunderstorm was in full swing making life interesting. Soggy firefighters closed the road in both directions so Fortis and their backup could de-energize the line and remove the downed pole.

We at the Fire Department had a lot of fun with Bentley's two Kindergarten classes which came to visit at the end of June. We hope you enjoyed your tour and learned some interesting safety tips. Thank you for being such well-behaved young people, it was a pleasure to have you visit!

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