Fire and rescue services rushed to the rural Chebucto Peninsula fishing community of Terence Bay on Tuesday evening following a report of a plane crash, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

A man from the area claimed he saw a plane break in two and catch on fire. RCMP said the call was credible and won’t file hoax-related charges, but on Wednesday some were trying to quantify the scale of the response.

READ MORE: Search crews stand down after finding no evidence of plane crash near Terence Bay

Halifax deputy fire chief Roy Hollet said the initial response was primarily from volunteers.

“At that time it would have been a strictly volunteer response,” he said. “So for volunteers to get a call to come in like that, they take all calls serious. But when they hear a plane crash, they’re usually going to leave what they’re doing to go to the station and [get] on a truck to check it out.”

He said there isn’t an dollar value attached to the response.

“For that call last night there would have been a value on the time of the volunteers,” Hollet said.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Clarke said after the Mounties received the call, they responded and co-ordinated air and water searches in the area.

“For whatever reason the individual who made the call, he believed what he was saying and we believed him as well,” she said.

The ocean and shoreline were scoured by units from a number of emergency agencies, including the military’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, Halifax District RCMP, Emergency Health Services and eight vehicles from Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency.

The search extended to Peggy’s Cove and was called off by RCMP after air traffic control confirmed there were no planes unaccounted for.