Lions Bay Fire Rescue - Spring 2010

It has been a very busy time for the fire department with the coming and going of the Olympics. In fact we have been preparing for the games in one way or another for about the past four years. Most recently in the months leading up to the start of the games we were concentrating on being prepared for a mass casualty incident involving a highway coach.

As leaders in vehicle extrication the province looked to us to not only train our selves, but also to provide training to the entire corridor by hosting a train the trainer bus rescue course for Whistler Fire, and Squamish Fire. As a final preparation we hosted a large scale mock disaster where a highway coach, filled with live patients, was turned on its side providing for a realistic situation for rescuers to respond to.

Led by our Fire Chief, Andrew Oliver, firefighters and officers from 6 career fire departments, RCMP, BC Ambulance and Emergency Social Services all participated in the event providing a coordinated effort under a unified incident command structure. The very successful event was captured by major television news outlets and featured at a national level.

During the games, our fire department provided 24/7 full time coverage in our area. We had a crew of 4 firefighters on duty at the firehall for the entire 17 days of the main games. This crew was available to respond immediately should an incident occur.

Thanks to funding that we received for our efforts during the games, we are able to take nearly $40,000 and in conjunction with additional funds in our fire department contingency, plan to purchase a used fire engine to replace our second aging fire pumper. We are planning to make this new engine a small ladder truck which would increase our accessibility and provide elevated stream capabilities which would allow us to provide for quick exposure coverage where the road is far below the homes (which is much of our village).

Finally, our spring training schedule will be busy with lessons in fire ground operations, fire tactics, ladders and hose lays. We will also be putting a new group of members through the emergency vehicle operations program.

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