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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A bit more public disclosure on the Yellowknife Fire Department would do the city some good, city councillors said during Monday's committee meeting.

Coun. David McCann made the motion to post the department's call statistics on the city's website. The numbers, he said, "put a harder edge" on just how much the department does.

"I think it's important to indicate to the public what we're doing," he said.

He also called for more information on response times and call durations for medevacs.

"Give us some statistics and we ask for more," joked Coun. Kevin Kennedy.

The request for more information - and more openness - was prompted by public safety director Dennis Marchiori's month-end report on the fire division.

In that presentation, Marchiori noted August was the first month this year where false fire calls didn't outnumber legitimated ones. Last month false alarms were just shy of actual "fire suppression" calls at 153, compared to 166.

Marchiori added total fire damage this year has reached $5,142,060, a sum which reflects the three major fires this year at Bison Estates, Sissons Court and Forrest Drive.

A busy month for crime

The RCMP joined their colleagues at the fire department with their own month-end report presented before council on Tuesday.

In August, the Yellowknife division received 1,207 calls for service, making the month "busier than normal," said Staff Sgt. Mike Brandford.

He also noted the spike in break-ins over the past month, adding with 14 already this month they're "averaging about one a day."

When Coun. Kevin Kennedy - who was a victim of a recent break-in - asked if the spike may be due to summer staff vacations Brandford told him absolutely not.

"We were a lot of overtime in the summer," he answered. The jump in break-ins isn't normal, he added.

A short history

The old Negus Mine house on 55 Street will become the first house designated as a heritage site in Yellowknife.

"It's extremely important to have a range of heritages sites," said Coun. Mark Heyck, who sits on the Heritage Committee.

The house "maintains all of its original 1940s design styles, including windows, doors and even the old asbestos," the Heritage Committee stated in its proposal.

"This kind of direction is very healthy from a tourism perspective," said Coun. David McCann. Especially, he said, because the house represents a unique time period in town.

So far the list of heritage buildings is scant, with the house set to possibly become the tenth. The list includes the Wildcat Cafe, the Canadian Pacific Float Base, Weaver and Devore, the Hudson Bay Warehouse, the Back Bay Cemetery, Fireweed Studio, the Old Log House, the Bank of Toronto building and the post office.

"We don't have a long record of being here - only 75 years," laughed Mayor Gord Van Tighem.