Earlier this evening, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services and Brandon Police Service responded to a garage on fire in the backlane of the 100 block of 14th Street. Upon arrival of fire crews, heavy fire was seen on the outside of the double-wide garage, with flames quickly extending into the roof area of the garage. Numerous exposure hazards were present, such as a fence and nearby houses. Prior to the arrival of fire crews, a police officer was seen using a fire extinguisher in an attempt to slow down the fire. Firefighters put multiple hand-lines in service and connected 15 Pump to a hydrant that was located at 13th Street and Princess Avenue. An aggressive attack was made on the fire which brought the bulk of the flames under control quite quickly. A ground ladder was put up to allow firefighters to use a chainsaw to gain access to the attic space of the garage. Water was sprayed through that hole to soak the attic space. Firefighters worked hard in incredible heat and humidity to bring this fire under control. According to Environment Canada the temperature was around 34°C with the humidex while this fire was happening. No word on injuries or a cause for the fire.

The BRHC Foundation Pumps for Life replacement initiative has received a huge push toward the goal line by the Winnipeg Kinsmen with their recent donation of $100,000. This remarkable gift has pushed us over the $800,000 mark of the $900,000 target. The Winnipeg Kinsmen have seen huge success with their Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo and have been giving back to the community. Tim McKay VP of service says “Throughout the pandemic, the public has been more exposed to the stresses on the health care system, the dedicated staff that work in it and the patients whose lives are impacted.  The Winnipeg Kinsmen are proud to help support the Pumps for Life program with a $100,000 donation as it will help save lives, ease workloads on staff and reduce stresses on patients.  We hope this goes a long way to helping the BRHC continue their commitment to proving high quality health care in Brandon and the Westman area” Donations can be made by contacting the Foundation office at info@brhcfoundation.ca or at our website www.brhcfoundation.ca (submitted)

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release On August 4, 2021, shortly after 10:00 am, police conducted a traffic stop in the 700 block of Victoria. Investigation led police to learn that the 27-year-old male driver was in possession of 1 kg of Crystal Meth and 9 oz. of Cocaine, which were seized. Following the arrest of the suspect, he was lodged at Brandon Police Service and will appear in court on charges of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Meth, Possess for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine, and Proceeds of Crime.

Brandon Police Service is pleased to announce the delivery of a new initiative within the City of Brandon.  Safer Neighbourhoods and Policing (or S. N. A. P) offers citizens and business owners in Brandon the opportunity to register the location of security camera systems onto an online mapping database that can be accessed by police investigators. One of our members, who saw similar successful programs being implemented in other police jurisdictions across North America, recognized the potential for this program and brought this concept to fruition. Owners of security camera systems within City of Brandon limits can access this registration system at https://snap.brandon.ca.  Once here, they can put in their contact information, location, and number of cameras, which police will in turn see populated on a map of the City of Brandon. Police may use the information citizens put into the database to contact them in the event a crime has been committed in their area.  If camera owners have useful security footage, they have the ability to assist in police investigations by sharing it.  Police will provide a storage device to retrieve any relevant footage; there is no need for the removal of personal camera equipment.  As always, participation in this program does not mean that individuals are obligated to provide police with any footage. Only members of Brandon Police Service will have access to this map and data, and you may request to have your information removed at any time.  This is a secure and confidential platform; any information that is added is not, and will not, be visible or made available to other contributors or citizens of Brandon. “Over the past 30 years of my service, the citizen of Brandon have been an integral part of our community safety.” states Wayne Balcaen, Chief of Police.  “The SNAP program is another avenue for our citizens and business community to proactively contribute to the security of our city.  As the number of private security camera networks continue to increase, registering where your cameras are located will help build another investigational avenue for our police service.  I look forward to the development of this police/community partnership initiative.” Police in Brandon frequently utilize private security footage to solve crimes and while investigators will still canvass neighbourhoods for this information, it can often be very time consuming, leading to delays in stopping a potentially active threat.  By having a centralized map of where these cameras exist, police have the opportunity to expedite investigations where very critical and time sensitive needs exist. Brandon Police Service looks forward to working with the citizens of Brandon as we all strive to deter and prevent crime through this community-based program For more information, please visit: https://www.brandon.ca/what-we-do/s-n-a-p-initiative To register a camera visit: https://snap.brandon.ca (submitted Brandon Police Service)  

The province will implement new public health orders and guidance on Aug. 7, one month earlier than forecast, Premier Brian Pallister and Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, announced today. “Thanks to the remarkable efforts of Manitobans, we are now in a position to reopen more, sooner, as we have achieved our highest vaccination rates yet,” said Pallister. “This means Manitobans will enjoy the least restrictive public health orders since the start of the pandemic last year.” The new public health orders follow the 4-3-2 One Great Summer Path to Reopen. Manitoba is expected to reach the third vaccination milestone ahead of schedule; as of today 80 per cent of Manitobans age 12 and over have received their first dose and 75 per cent are expected to receive their second dose over the next week. With continued improvement in the overall COVID-19 situation, the premier noted the interim orders only restrict the most high-risk transmission environments. Public health recommendations and guidance, rather than restrictions, will play an increasingly significant role as the province prepares for a shift from pandemic to endemic COVID-19. Specifically, the new public health orders will allow the following sectors to open without restrictions: • indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences; • gyms and fitness centres; • libraries; • personal services such as hair and nail salons; • day camps; and • retail businesses, markets, garden centres and malls. Other sectors will open with limited restrictions including: • expanded capacity limits will remain in place for weddings, funerals and other public gatherings both indoors and outdoors including larger capacity limits for worship and cultural events like pow wows; • restaurants and bars will no longer need to restrict the size or space between tables and dining will not be restricted to households or vaccinated individuals; however, patrons will still be expected to avoid congregating or socializing between tables; • museums, galleries and movie theatres will remain limited to 50 per cent capacity but will no longer be restricted to vaccinated individuals; • casinos and bingo halls, professional sporting events, horse and auto racing, and concert halls will continue to be limited to vaccinated individuals; however, all these facilities may now open to 100 per cent capacity; • indoor and outdoor sports and recreation will fully reopen with limits only on spectator capacity; • overnight camps will be permitted with limits on camper cohorts; • workplaces must continue to report cases to government for followup and public health-confirmed transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace may result in workplaces being ordered to close for a minimum of 10 days; and • remote working will no longer be required or recommended by public health and workplaces will be encouraged to transition from COVID-19 safety plans to a general communicable disease prevention plan that focuses on basic risk-reduction principles to reduce the risk of workplace transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Due to the ongoing presence of COVID-19 in Manitoba and elsewhere, and the extra risk posed by the more contagious delta variant, provincial public health officials strongly recommend the following: • wearing masks in indoor public spaces for everyone who is not fully immunized including children under 12; and • maintaining physical distancing of two metres (six feet) in indoor settings. “Unless you are fully immunized, you are still at risk for more severe effects of COVID-19, such as requiring hospital care or even death,” said Roussin. “We are slowly but surely approaching a post-pandemic Manitoba, but this does not mean COVID-19 will disappear. We need to remain cautious and vigilant in our efforts to stop the spread of this virus.” The new public health orders will go into effect at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 7. The orders will expire at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, and will be reassessed at that time in the context of vaccination rates and the province’s overall COVID-19 situation. “We are very close to hitting that final milestone in our reopening path and reopening fully and completely,” said Pallister. “We need everyone on ‘Team Manitoba’ to for this final stretch. Get vaccinated – not once, but twice – and follow the public health orders and guidance designed to bend our COVID curve down, and keep it down.” For more information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/covid19/. (Province of MB News Release)