Population growth linked to spike in LaSalle Fire Service calls

LaSalle's second fire station opened on Jan. 19, 2025, at 2190 Front Rd. (Source: Town of LaSalle)

The LaSalle Fire Service has reported the second highest number of incidents per quarter in its history.

In a report to council Tuesday night, LaSalle fire logged 175 calls in Q3 2025.

Of those, 30 were related to fire/overheat/smoke, 43 for medical or motor vehicle collisions, 77 alarms (smoke, CO, panels), and 25 other calls.

The previous high was 194 incidents in Q3 2023, when the service received 37 calls in a 24-hour period during an ice storm.

Fire Chief Ed Thiessen said Q3 2025 didn’t have one major event driving the numbers but noted other factors could be at play.

“I think it has a correlation to just an increase in population. The density of that population and it’s very realistic or common to other growing municipalities,” he said.

One volunteer firefighter resigned in Q3 2025.

The fire service is a composite fire department, made up of 19 full-time firefighters and approximately 33 volunteer (paid-on-call) firefighters.

Thiessen said volunteers are hired in batches because of the training and certification they go through and didn’t expect to hire before 2027.

“Training them start to finish, for us, takes approximately 18 months, so we just run short until our next hiring intake,” said Thiessen.

As winter nears and cold weather settles in, Thiessen had some reminders for residents.

“I think it’s just paying attention to road conditions, being patient, giving yourself extra time, and being careful with heating elements. When we’re hosting family gatherings or parties just to be cognizant of fire/life safety,” he said.

Last month’s LaSalle Gives Back campaign, which saw firefighters distribute newsletters for cash donations in support local non-profits and youth assistance organizations, raised $72,834 ahead of the holidays.