Portage Emergency Services were busy over the August long weekend responding to a wide variety of calls throughout the four day break.

On Saturday at 3:04 a.m. Portage Emergency Services responded to the Midtown Motor Inn in Portage la Prairie for a report of smoke. It was discovered that the smoke smell was coming from a broken light fixture ballast.

Portage Fire Department cleared the smoke from the motel by setting up fans to blow out the smoke.

On Saturday at 1:15 p.m. Portage Fire Department responded to a second call of smoke at an apartment on 1st St. NW. The occupant of the apartment fell asleep while cooking and boiled a pot of potatoes dry.

Portage Fire Department responded by removing the pot and then setting up fans to blow the smoke out of the building.

On Monday at 3:23 p.m. a call came in of a brush fire on Highway 240. The fire got out of control after burning garbage blew away into a hay field, where it lit a bale on fire. Portage Fire Department quickly put out the flames.

A call came in on Monday at 11:40 p.m. of a vehicle fire just south of the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 305. By the time fire crews arrived on the scene the Chevy Astro van was fully engulfed in flames.

The vehicle was a total write off after the fire, and no injuries were reported.

On Tuesday at 3:17 a.m. Portage Emergency Services responded to another vehicle fire in the 500 block of 11th St. NW. Although the fire was contained to the front drivers seat it was considered suspicious.

Portage RCMP will be investigating the fire as well as the other damage that the vehicle received. The make of the vehicle is not known.