A busy week for the Okotoks Fire Department as they responded to 20 calls that ranged from medical responses to evacuations in Cimarron.

Within the 20 calls, there were 11 medical responses, one false alarm, two gas leaks, two motor vehicle collisions, two fire pit complaints, and one garbage fire in the M.D. that needed to be extinguished.

Deputy Fire Chief Pat McIsaac says the gas leaks both caused evacuations, the larger one caused 25 residents of Cimarron to evacuate while the other emptied the Foothills Composite High School.

"There were two natural gas leaks, both were caused by construction work, one caused us to evacuate the Composite High School for about an hour, the other caused a bigger evacuation of a portion of Cimarron Blvd."

There were no injuries in either scenario and Atco was called out to fix the gas leak in both areas.

McIsaac shares some of his most memorable calls of the week, were the 2 collisions where a cyclist was involved in both instances.

"We also had two MVC's, both of which were car vs. bike."  McIsaac says "While both outcomes were only minor injuries, it is a good reminder for motorists that we need to share the road with cyclists because no one wants these accidents to happen."

Luckily, no collisions were reported as Okotoks hosted the Ride to Conquer Cancer later that week.

Both cyclists involved were residents of town.

Okotoks Fire Services would like to remind residents that there is still a fire ban in place, as they had to respond to multiple fire pit complaints one dangerous outdoor fire.

McIsaac says they do re-evaluate the fire ban daily, but it comes down to the resources on hand vs. the outdoor conditions and rainfall.

He adds that he is among those who are hoping for the ban to be lifted shortly, while thanking residents for their patience.

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