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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 9, 1985. PAGE Il $800,000 was the Kurz plant fire, Crouch says.... Wh*tby's fire losses over $ m m 18 Whitby's f ire loss in 1984 was $1,075,865 ac- cording to a report submitted to Whitby Town Counil's operations committee by Fire Chief Ed Crouch. However, $800.000 of last year's lost was due to the fire that almost .completely destroyed the Kurz Foods Inc. meat processing plant last January. Other fire losses amnount to $275,865. The loss in vehicle fires amounted to an ad- ditional $86,095 in 1984. According to Crouch's report, 1984 was the heaviest year for fîre loss locally in the last four years. In 1980, Whitby's fire loss was $399,100 while in 1981, the loss was $575,750. In the years 1982 and 1983, fire loss in tôwn dropped to $283,700 and $240,080 respectively. The town also ex- perienced 16 major fire losses in 1984, that is, fires where the damage exceeded $2,000. Aside from the Kurz f ire, there were bouse fires at 25 Barmerman Crt. on Jan. 1 ($25,000): at 122 Elizabeth Cres on Jan. 10 ($45,000 damage); 1722 Brock St. S. on Jan. 14 ($10,000 damage); 808 Ironwood Crt. on June 19 ($50,000 damage); 6 Coulton Crt. on Sept. 24 ($25,000 damage); 4680 Garrard Rd. on Oct. 9 ($31,50Ã" damage); 10 Ann Arbor Crt. ($20,000 damage); and, 1080 Myrtie St. W. on Nov. 1 ($31,000 damage). During 1984, the department responded to 1,456 calîs which in- cluded building, grass, rubbish, brush and vehicle fires; providing assistance to police and ambulance services, giving aid to other municipalities and resuces. In fact, the depar- tment responded to 172 cails for rescue or medical aid which is substantially higher than 1983's 45 calîs. Crouch also noted that ail but three of the depar trrients 93 member fulltirne and volunteer complement were cer- tified in car- diopunonary resusci- tation <C.P.R.). The greatest number of responses were dispatched from the departmnents main f ire hall on Brock St. S. Firefighters there made 852 responses while their collegues at the Garrard Rd. and Man- ning Rd. station made 516 responses . The ail volunteer station in Brooklin made 65 responses while the ail volunteer station in Myrtle made 23 responses. In the conclusion of is report, Crouch said that most of Whitoy's fire loss was sustained during the Kurz fire. "The increase in the fire loss for the past year is mainly caused cured," he said, "The remaining fire loss suf- fered by the residents of Whitby was $275,865 or an increase from 1983 of $35,785. "This figure indicates that the citizens are con- tinuing their fire awareness practises and techniques which is a positive achievement for the citizen," he ad- ded. Smokers and people who used weldlng tools and flammable materials improperly also caused con- siderable damage last vear. "The misuse of smoking products caused $70,000 in fire loss, the improper use of w.elding tools in conjun- etion with flammable materials $81,500. arson contributes a $35,000 fire loss," Crouch said. The department's response time- to emergencies is also im- Crouch, the depar- tment's average response time is 3:24 minutes for the entire town and 2:08 minutes in the urban area.