Though he doesn't want to jinx it, Morden Fire Chief, Andy Thiessen says structure fires have been rare for the past number of months.

Thiessen believes it's due to continual efforts to inform the public on fire prevention and safety. "If people continue to be fire smart at home... they'll put us out of a job, and that's okay."

In 2018, the Morden Fire Department responded to 138 calls, on par for their yearly average. Thiessen says the structure fires they did have were mostly minor and a majority of their calls were motor vehicle collisions.

"They were up a little bit higher than average, to a total of 19 motor vehicle accidents, included in that is motor vehicle fires, of which we had five."

One incident that took place on May 26 was a burning vehicle in Morden, where Thiessen quickly used his vehicle to ram the vehicle off the roadway so it would not reach the residential area nearby.

Another highlight was the development of a training site. Thiessen notes in the past they had residents donate old structures to train in, however, those donations have become rare. The new site will create some much-needed consistency for their training.

With volunteer membership high and no current openings, and a new rescue vehicle on the horizon, Thiessen says 2019 is shaping up to be a great year.