October 09, 2012

fireprevention week

oct. 7 - 13 2012

Page 2

Fire Prevention Week - October 7th - 13th, 2012

BURGESS PLUMBING, HEATING & ELECTRICAL CO. LTD.

www.burgessphe.com300 Industrial Rd,100 Mile House 250-395-4800

36 N. Broadway, Williams Lake 250-392-3301QUALITY WORKMANSHIP

Are you safe?

GrantIan

Certifi ed Fire Technicians KevinKen

SALES • SERVICE • INSPECTION

Fire Extinguishers

Fire Alarm Systems

Fire Protection Equipment and Supplies

Commercial Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems

Off-Road Machinery Fire Suppression Systems

Emergency Lighting

Which smoke alarm is best for reducing false alarms? Smoke alarms are not

all the same. By choosing the correct technology you can keep your family safe and reduce those annoy-ing false alarms when you cook or shower.

Photoelectric smoke alarms are a good choice near kitchens or in areas adjacent to bathrooms, say fire safety experts. Their sensors are best at detecting slow, smouldering fires —

which means you will have fewer false alarms caused by burnt toast or shower steam. Ionization smoke alarms are good for general living areas, as their sen-sors are best at detecting fast-flaming fires.

Fire departments say that having both types of alarms installed in your home, or a combination with both types of sensors, provides the best protection. More

information as well as fire safety tips can be found online at www.safeathome.ca.

Carbon monoxide leaks an increased threat as cold weather arrives

That extra nip in the fall air provides a reminder that increased vigilance is required to protect your family from carbon mon-

oxide, known as the “silent killer.”

For one Ontario man, it is an especially stark re-minder. In late 2008 John Gignac, a retired firefight-er, lost his niece, her hus-band and their two children to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. A blocked chim-ney vent forced the deadly gas from their gas fireplace back into their home. And just one year ago, a White-horse family and a boarder were also killed by CO poi-soning.

After his family trag-edy, Gignac established the Hawkins-Gignac Foun-dation for CO Education and spends his retirement imploring others to protect themselves from CO with one simple step: installing a CSA-approved carbon monoxide alarm.

“My niece Laurie Hawk-ins and her family had no chance because they did not have a CO alarm,” Gig-nac says. “If they did, they would still be with us to-day.”

Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless. So without a CO

alarm, humans cannot de-tect its presence. Despite the average home having several potential sources of the deadly gas, studies show that nearly 60 per cent of Canadians have not installed a CO alarm.

“Over the past four years I have spoken to dozens of groups and hundreds of people and the comments are almost always the same,” Gignac says. “Peo-ple tell me they don’t need a carbon monoxide alarm because they have electric heat. But when I ask them if they have a gas appliance or water heater, or a wood-burning or gas fireplace, or a garage or carport attached to their house, they all get a horrified look on their face. Because any one of those can be a source of CO and their families have been at risk for years.”

In addition to being im-possible to detect, CO also has another nefarious trait. Symptoms of carbon mon-oxide exposure mimic the flu, without the fever. It is routinely responsible for thousands of clinic and hos-pital visits each year, and is

commonly misdiagnosed. Prolonged or extreme ex-posure causes nausea, diz-ziness, confusion, the loss of physical mobility, brain damage and ultimately, death.

Gignac offers these four CO safety steps:

• Have a licenced inspec-tor check heating systems and other fuel-burning ap-pliances, including fire-places, every year.

• Install one CSA-ap-proved CO alarm on each storey of your home and outside all sleeping areas.

• Check outside to make sure all exhaust flues and vents are not obstructed.

• Replace CO alarms every seven to 10 years depending on the manufac-turer, whether battery oper-ated or hardwired.

“Most CO alarms cost in the range of $30, just about two cents a day over their lifespan, a small price to pay for the safety of you and your family,” Gignac adds.

More carbon monoxide safety tips are available on-line at www.endthesilence.ca.

Melanie FunkE.M.P. Instructor/Trainer/Evaluator

Registered Training Agency for Worksafe BC

Committed to training excellence!

PROUD TO BE INVOLVED WITH FIRE PROTECTION

250-296-4161www.cariboofirstaid.com

Email: [email protected]

Located at the Pioneer Complex

BOOK NOW

October 12 or November 2Training for Level 1

November 5 - 20Training for Advanced Level 3

Workplace Level 1Transportation Endorsement

Pediatric CoursesAutomated External Defibrillator

C.P.R. All LevelsAdvanced Level 3

Lac la Hache Volunteer Fire Department

Lac La Hache Volunteer Fire Department members, from left to right, are Fire Chief Terry Murphy, firefighters Steve Burt, Moe Pare, Matthew Masse, Ian Henderson, and Rick Jones, and Lieutenant Dan Henderson, Captain Brent Rutherford, and Deputy Chief Roger Hollander.

Sponsored by this community minded business.

DL# 30406

Supporting all our local and volunteer fi re fi ghters for their dedicated service to the community

www.heartlandtoyota.ca

1-888-378-3205106 N. Broadway, Williams Lakemake things better

TOYOTAHEARTLAND

Page 3


910 E. Mackenzie Ave. S. • 250-398-7118 1-800-661-6887• www.windsorplywood.com

aei

Windsor PlywoodCANADA’S Original FINISHING STORE!

919100 EE MMMa

Inter

ior &

Exte

rior D

oors

• Lam

inate,

Cor

k, En

ginee

red &

Trad

itiona

l Floo

ring •

Mou

lding

s • C

ount

erto

p Lam

inates

• Cab

inets

• Har

dwar

e • P

anell

ing • C

onstr

uctio

n Plyw

oods

• Dec

ks • L

attice

• Alum

inum

Railin

gs • T

ools Interior & Exterior Doors • Laminate, Cork, Engineered & Traditional Flooring • Mouldings • Countertop Laminates • Cabinets • Hardware • Panelling • Construction Plywoods • Decks • Lattice • Aluminum Railings • Tools

Interior & Exterior Doors • Laminate, Cork, Engineered & Traditional Flooring • Mouldings • Countertop Laminates • Cabinets • Hardware • Panelling

• Hardwood & Laminate Flooring• Interior & Exterior Doors• On Site Door Shop• Gyproc & Concrete Products• Paint & Stain• Construction Lumber & Plywood• Mouldings & Flat Stock• Wood & Vinyl Windows• Hardwood Lumber & Plywood• Insulation • Metal & Asphalt Roo ng• And So Much More!

Proud to Supportour localFire Departments.

Thanksgiving turkey fires cause for concern at 9-1-1 centre

Chimney & Felker Lakes VFD attends more than fires

E -Comm’s fire dispatch team is warning families to be mindful of their turkey cooking during Thanksgiving weekend, which is also the start of national Fire Prevention Week, which runs from Oct. 7 to 13.

“A turkey isn’t some-thing you typically see on a list of household fire hazards, but we get 9-1-1 calls about ovens go-ing up in flames all the time,” says Corey Kelso, E-Comm fire dispatcher.

“The result can be dev-

astating if you’re not care-ful every time you have something cooking for an extended period of time.”

Fire Prevention Week is a national initiative to pro-mote fire safety through education, and strives to bring awareness to the

dangers of fire and how we can protect ourselves.

E-Comm has received some odd calls to 9-1-1 before — including some-one wanting to know how long to cook a turkey — but a turkey fire is no joke.

In fact, it is a leading cause of spikes in 9-1-1 calls over the holidays.

“A flame in your oven can start easily and esca-late quickly,” Kelso says.

“Oil drippings through a thin tinfoil turkey pan or bits of leftover food resi-

due inside your oven are extremely flammable in a high temperature setting.”

E-Comm 9-1-1 provides dispatch to 18 fire depart-ments in southwest B.C. and answers almost one million 9-1-1 calls each year for Metro Vancouver.

Erin HitchcockFire Prevention 2012

Firefighters don’t just put out fires, says Chim-ney & Felker Lakes Vol-unteer Fire Department Chief Allen Schaad.

Over the last year, the department has attended small traffic accidents and a small plane crash, and it has assisted B.C. Am-bulance that transported a patient to hospital via he-licopter.

“There was a mutual task, where we used the search hall.

“Search and Rescue came out — that’s my oth-er hat — we were looking for a missing person at a residence who had gone astray,” Schaad says.

“We used the fire hall and our fire department members teamed up with search and rescue mem-bers to work on that search.”

The missing person

eventually came home.“As it turns out, there

have been more of those other things [than fires],” he says.

The fire department is still working toward receiving certification. When it becomes certi-fied, insurance companies will recognize it.

“It’s a long, slow pro-cess, an expensive process. That’s still in the works.”

Funding, he says, is the fire department’s biggest

impediment, so it recently applied for a gaming grant through the provincial government.

“Now we sit and chew our fingernails, hoping they see us worthy and that we could make good use of their funds.”

He says the department would like to use the funds to replace old, outdated personal protection equip-ment, such as helmets, boots, and jackets.

He said the department

was fortunate to receive such items secondhand from the Williams Lake Fire Department, but he notes the used items weren’t wanted by Wil-liams Lake for a reason.

“The reason they got new ones was because they were out of date,” he says, adding that replac-ing the equipment will be expensive.

“To do that for 18 mem-bers, that’s well more than we have in our bank ac-

count.”The rest of the applica-

tion requests funding for training materials, such as books, and honorariums for the chiefs and training officers from surrounding departments to attend the Chimney/Felker depart-ment to help out mem-bers.

The fire hall is located between Chimney and Felker lakes and serves 12 kilometres north and 12 km south of it.

Chimney & Felker LakesVolunteer Fire Department

Chimney & Felker Lakes Volunteer Fire Department members are, from left to right, Wade Lambe, Al Tranq, Alex Tranq, Rob Shelest, Bill Margetts, Allen Schaad, Darrel Bornyk, Jack Mullett, Larry Straza, Wayne Erlandson, and Dennis Melney. Not present are Jack Leggett, Leigh Markland, Lorne Schuette, George Broomfield, Harold Richards, Danny Moxey, Ken Mitchell, Gen Gibson, and Ken Lucks.


3 P’s of Fire

ProtectionTom Edginton

2560 Chimney Lake Rd 250-392-4414Prevention, Prevention, Prevention

Flames in the oven can start easily and escalate quickly, warns fire dispatcher

Fire Prevention Week - October 7th - 13th, 2012Page 4

150 Mile Fire Departmentstays ahead of the curve


There’s a lot going on at the 150 Mile Fire De-partment.

For instance, says Fire Chief Stan McCarthy, the department is putting in a new water system, which is expected to bring the community up to hydrant status.

“That will really help the insurance for the ho-meowners and all of 150 Mile,” McCarthy says.

“That’s my goal for next year. You have to pump so many gallons an hour, and I think we have to pump 20,000 gal-lons non-stop per hour to make it hydrant status. Then we will be equal to Williams Lake.”

The department, which became a Cariboo Re-gional District fire de-

partment in 1981, has six dry hydrants in the area, and McCarthy says he plans to install two more.

In the last year, the de-partment purchased new Scott 4500 breathing apparatus, which were bought used from the City of Kitimat through a bid process.

About 16 sets were purchased for less than $5,000 total — each are worth about $6,000 new — and 32 extra bottles were included in the pur-chase.

“They are in excel-lent condition,” he says, adding the money to purchase the equipment comes from the CRD fire protection taxes.

Two years ago, the department purchased a pumper/tender fire truck — a crew cab that holds

six people and 2,000 gal-lons of water — bringing the total amount of fire trucks up to five.

“We upgraded our turn-out gear this year (coats, pants) and we installed new lockers for the turn-out gear, and in October

we get a new air compres-sor to fill our breathing apparatus, which new is worth $25,000 and I got it for $11,000.”

McCarthy says the fire department trains to 1001 standards, which allows its members to do interior attacks on fires.

“We’re one of the very few CRD departments

that train to that stan-dard,” he says, adding that the department has 31 members.

“We’re a very aggres-sive fire department.”

He says all of the de-partment’s personnel train for medical inci-

dents.“I am really lucky. I

have four or five para-medics at my hall, and some are trained higher than the 1001 standards. I have a really good de-partment.”

Some of the members are from Spider Rescue Services, which provides training itself.

The department’s boundaries extend to Knife Creek Road to the city of Williams Lake boundaries; to the end of Pigeon Road off Highway 97; to the border of Mio-cene on Horsefly Road; as far as Mountain House Road on Likely Road; all of Mission Road; and it does a contract service for the Williams Lake In-dian Band.

The department’s call volume has increased over the past few years, which not only includes calls for fires but also medical/first responder calls.

It also does mutual aid with the Williams Lake, Miocene, and Wildwood fire departments, with the Williams Inn fire that took place earlier this year being a prime exam-ple of a mutual aid call.

McCarthy says he is extremely proud of the 150 Mile House Volun-teer Fire Department.

“We have great at-tendendence, we have great personnel, and we have no problems with retention,” he says, add-ing that the department also hosts annual spring training for other depart-ments.

“We had 80 firefighters there last year.”

And when firefight-ers aren’t busy training, space at the fire hall is available to the commu-nity. It’s used for exer-cise classes on Tuesday mornings, carving on Wednesday mornings, and yoga on Thursday mornings.

It is also used by Boy Scouts and 4-H and for community events and meetings.

150 Mile Fire DepartmentSponsored by

these community minded businesses.

150 Mile Fire Department members are, from left to right, Rob Barta, Tammy Stasiuk, Steve McNally, Fire Chief Stan McCarthy, J.J. Bast, Chad Mackay, Madeline Hjelden, Deputy Chief Ed Marshall, Jason Davis, Deputy Chief Paul McCarthy, Jeremy Schmid, and Andrea Real.

150 Mile House • 250-296-3527

150 Mile MeatsMANY THANKS for all your hard work

in our community!

B. COMBSTRUCKING

COMBS ENTERPRISES

and

250-296-4455 150 Mile House, BC

250-296-4235

~ tea house ~~ gift shoppe ~

Proud to support our

Volunteer Fire Department

FallHours

Tues.-Sun.10-4

Larry & Dianne Hargrove, Owners/Managers#10 Settler Place, 150 Mile House 250-296-4515

[email protected]

OPEN 24 HOURS24 Hour Truck Stop • Fuel

Propane • CardlockMohawk/Chevron Bulk Lubricants • Sani-Station

Convenience Store • Coin Laundry • ATMAuthorized U-Haul Dealer • Fax & Copy Service

Post Office • Restaurant • Soft Ice Cream

Thanks for all you do to protect our community!

DL#6146

150 Mile House | Location 3057 Highway 97Phone 250 296 4411 | Fax 250 296 4208

Web www.chemorv.ca | Email [email protected]

CAMPERS • TRAVEL TRAILERS 5TH WHEELS • MOTORHOMES

Always a room with a view

There’s a lot going on at the 150 Mile Fire Department.

Page 5


Williams Lake fire chief to retire from job he lovesErin HitchcockFire Prevention 2012

Fire Chief Randy Isfeld is looking to retire soon, end-ing a 37-year career with the Williams Lake Fire Depart-ment.

“I was a volunteer for 10 years and full time for the last remaining time,” he says.

Over his career, he has seen firsthand devastating blazes such as the Lakeview Hotel fire in 2005 that left three dead. He was severely injured in the Avco fire in 1992, causing him to nearly lose his leg, and as recently as February of this year, he has seen another hotel go up in flames — the Williams Inn fire. Luckily, in that fire, all of the building’s oc-cupants got out OK and no emergency personnel were harmed either.

“About the only big fire we have been to this year has been the Williams Inn. That was quite an event, but not uncommon for the city,” Isfeld says, adding the Williams Lake department received assistance from

150 Mile and Wildwood de-partments, as well as from the RCMP. “It seems every couple of years we go to a large structure (fire) of some kind.”

The fire department has 42 members and has been to about 188 calls so far this year, which includes col-lisions, officer pages, and fires.

In 1992, the Avco building (now the Phoenix building) had a back-draft explosion.

“I almost lost my left leg in that fire. I was out of commission for about six months,” he says, adding that he has since had several operations. “I’ve still got my leg, so that’s good.”

Despite the experience, Isfled was not deterred from being a firefighter. In fact, it may have reaffirmed his de-cision to fight fires.

“I was just so humbled by how so many people took the time to either send me a card or come in and see me when I got home,” he says, adding he still has a large box full of newspaper ar-ticles and get-well cards at home.

Isfeld says the Lakeview Hotel was a traumatic ex-perience, for the building’s occupants and for the fire department members.

He recalls how firefight-ers entered the building via a ladder on the third floor and rescued two people from a room, including a man who was helped down the ladder.

“The lady, they had to go inside the room, and as they were breaking the lady out through the window and got her on the ladder, they were half in and half out, and the building collapsed over, so it was a fairly heroic act be-cause they knew the dangers as they were reaching in to get this person out. But they got them down, and the am-bulance got the woman re-suscitated again.”

But when the firefighters tried to reposition the ladder to rescue three others, it was too late.

“Certainly the guys were doing everything they should have been doing but we just couldn’t. That was fairly traumatic for every-body.”

The building was de-stroyed, and the fire de-termined to be arson. The person(s) responsible were never caught.

“As far as I know that case is still open. Because there were deaths involved, it doesn’t close.”

After the fire three of the department firefighters re-ceived honorary mentions from the Fire Commission-ers Office.

Isfeld was the manager of the Fields store in Williams Lake when a friend of his got him interested in joining the Williams Lake Volunteer Fire Department in 1976,

“After about the first six months I was in, I think I realized I was in the wrong career all together. I wanted to be a firefighter.”

Isfeld and his wife Linda, who have been married for 42 years, have three chil-dren and five grandchildren who will keep them busy once Isfeld retires. Two of his children have followed in his fire-fighting footsteps. His son Kurtis is deputy di-rector at the Cariboo Fire Centre. His other son Car-

son has been with the Delta Fire Department for about seven years.

His daughter Deanna is opening a home business in Langley.

Isfeld also plans to travel, spend time fishing, and en-joy hobbies such as wood-working and horseback rid-ing.

It’s not yet known who will replace Isfeld as chief, but he says there is a succes-sion plan in place.

“It’s been a fantastic ca-reer,” he says. “I am ex-tremely proud of this de-partment.”

He looks back to the late fire chief Dale Moon, with whom he was friends with for more than 30 years, and who taught him a great deal.

“I’ve got a thing on the bottom of my e-mail I got years ago that says find something you love to do and you will never have to work a day in your life. That’s just how this job has been. I love coming to work. The staff we have here, the immediate staff I work with at the city and the fire hall

are fantastic and certainly the members.”

Because of the nature of the job the firefighters aren’t just coworkers; they are like family.

“We do a very dangerous task sometimes, sometimes not so much, but in some cases we do. We need to look at the person beside you and know that person is going to look after you when you are in there because everything is done as team work. Very seldom is something done individually.

“I’ve had a tremendous career with the Williams Lake Fire Department. I have enjoyed every moment of it and still do. I know I am going to miss the job when I leave it. Having said that, it’s time for me to move on.”

He says it will be a bit-tersweet moment because, while he is looking forward to retirement, he will miss the people he works with.

“I certainly will stay in touch,” he notes. “For the last 30-some years, the fire department has been my life.”

Wildwood Volunteer Fire Department

The Wildwood Volunteer Fire Department has nearly 20 active members. Last year, the fire hall was expanded and renovated.


WILDWOOD FOODSProud to support

our local fi refi ghtersGas • Diesel • Liquor • Lottery

Ice • Bakery • Hunting Licences

Hwy. 97 N. 250-989-5488

Horsefly VolunteerFire Department

Sponsored by this community minded business. Horsefly Realty Ltd.

250-620-3440Email: [email protected] Fax 250-620-3454

Box 267, Horsefly BC V0L 1L0

Offering Rural, Recreational, Ranch & Commercial Properties in the East Cariboo Lakes District

www.horseflyrealty.ca

The Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department is a small, rural fire department located in Horsefly, about 70 kilometres from Williams Lake.

Salute to the

Williams LakeFire Department

Al Palmgren

Dr. Michael J. Bos, DC 250-392-7717


Jason LandrySteven DohertyDerek Beaulieu

250-398-6053& Construct ion

Greg Ford

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGENaomi E. Smith, BA, RMT

250-392-7717

Gerald Pittman

Rob Warnock, Asst. Chief

Dawson Lutz

Kurtis Isfeld, Captain

Agencies Group

Spring Wiebe Trevor SchickKevin Bernier

250-392-3396785 Pinchbeck St.

Richard Rife

Country CottageHairstyling

850 Oliver St. • 250-392-4169

Kathy Ferguson

99 N 2nd Ave.250-392-6933

Joan Flaspohler, Lt.

AKETOWNFURNISHINGS Ltd.Savings, Service and Satisfaction since 1971L

Judy Felker

Randy Isfeld, Chief

Tallon Rolston, Captain Joe Engelberts, Captain

Des Webster, Deputy Fire Chief Rick Jelley, Asst. Chief

Don Firth

99 N 2nd Ave.250-392-6933

79D 3rd Avenue North

250-392-7022Since 1967250-398-5872

315G Yorston St. 250-392-4161

24C S. 2nd Ave. 250-392-4747 150 Oliver Street 250-392-5423

180C North 3rd Ave 250-398-9033 250 Barnard St 250-398-7895

910 E. Mackenzie Ave. S 250-398-7118

Woodland JewellersSpecial Gifts for Special People since 1933

850 Oliver St. 250-392-4169

122 N Broadway Ave. 250-392-230574 N. Broadway 250-392-4818New Waves Pool and Spa

Lake City Ford

JeepExcelsior Jewellers

106-235 Oliver St. 250-392-2395Oliver & Co.BODY CONNECTION by JOE 180 Comer St.

250-392-3336

JustBecause...

Ladies Clothing Boutique

Beside thePost Office

778-412-2229 1205 Prosperity Way, Williams Lake 250-305-6868

Page 6 Page 7

Salute to the

Williams LakeFire Department

Al Palmgren

Dr. Michael J. Bos, DC 250-392-7717


Jason LandrySteven DohertyDerek Beaulieu

250-398-6053& Construct ion

Greg Ford

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGENaomi E. Smith, BA, RMT

250-392-7717

Gerald Pittman

Rob Warnock, Asst. Chief

Dawson Lutz

Kurtis Isfeld, Captain

Agencies Group

Spring Wiebe Trevor SchickKevin Bernier

250-392-3396785 Pinchbeck St.

Richard Rife

Country CottageHairstyling

850 Oliver St. • 250-392-4169

Kathy Ferguson

99 N 2nd Ave.250-392-6933

Joan Flaspohler, Lt.

AKETOWNFURNISHINGS Ltd.Savings, Service and Satisfaction since 1971L

Judy Felker

Randy Isfeld, Chief

Tallon Rolston, Captain Joe Engelberts, Captain

Des Webster, Deputy Fire Chief Rick Jelley, Asst. Chief

Don Firth

99 N 2nd Ave.250-392-6933

79D 3rd Avenue North

250-392-7022Since 1967250-398-5872

315G Yorston St. 250-392-4161

24C S. 2nd Ave. 250-392-4747 150 Oliver Street 250-392-5423

180C North 3rd Ave 250-398-9033 250 Barnard St 250-398-7895

910 E. Mackenzie Ave. S 250-398-7118

Woodland JewellersSpecial Gifts for Special People since 1933

850 Oliver St. 250-392-4169

122 N Broadway Ave. 250-392-230574 N. Broadway 250-392-4818New Waves Pool and Spa

Lake City Ford

JeepExcelsior Jewellers

106-235 Oliver St. 250-392-2395Oliver & Co.BODY CONNECTION by JOE 180 Comer St.

250-392-3336

JustBecause...

Ladies Clothing Boutique

Beside thePost Office

778-412-2229 1205 Prosperity Way, Williams Lake 250-305-6868

Page 6 Page 7

Page 8

Williams Fire

Rob Derksen

Alain Lachapelle Darren Ethier

Troy FeistChris Walker

Derek Sulentich

Bill Page

527 McKenzie Ave. S250-392-5362

357 Oliver St.250-392-6581 106 N. Broadway 250-392-4114

TOYOTAHEARTLAND

Jason Chamberlain

1059 Hwy 97 S250-392-2880

Rayna Carpenter

250-392-7212Beside the Husky

Lake City Ford

The Craziest Store in Town!

Williams Lake & DistrictCHAMBER OF COMMERCE

“THE VOICE OF BUSINESS”250-392-5025

250-392-2305 • Toll Free 1-800-490-4414 DL#7549 N. Broadway, Williams Lake

Loretta Ranftal

122 N Broadway Ave. 250-392-2305Gustafson’s Kia

YOUR ONE STOP METAL CENTER!

Page 9

LakeDepartment

James Ronalds

Russ Brown Nick West

74 South 1st Avenue 250-392-4498Serving you since 1985

Chris Thamerus

Brendan FooteRoger Rauchensteiner

1218 South Broadway Ave

98 N Second Ave.

250-392-7106

Nobody Beats...

318 N. Broadway

250-398-3328 Getting It Right!

Blair EngelJason Sim

Alarms & InstallationULC Monitored

250-392-3737

Trevor Stockdale

Brucks Wedel

i’m lovin’ it™

1324 S. Broadway

19 N 1ST AVE. 250-392-5923

www.caribouski.com

250-392-7455 • 234 Borland St.

188 N. 1st Ave. 250-392-2331

#77B 2nd Ave. N. • 778-412-2223

Fire Prevention Week - October 7th - 13th, 2012Page 10


Every month, volunteers with the Miocene Volun-teer Fire Department have a chance to win a prize dur-ing the fire hall’s monthly appreciation draw.

The draw is an incentive started in the spring to en-courage volunteers to at-tend practices.

“Anybody that shows up for practice, their name then goes in a draw and we pull a name once a month,” says Miocene Fire Chief Stan Pogue, adding that at the end of the year, the 12 names that were pulled go back into another draw at the department’s annual Christmas party for entrants to have a chance to win a bigger surprise package.

“We’re trying to think of ways to entice people to come out a little bit.”

The Miocene Fire De-partment, located at the corner of Horsefly and Spokin Lake roads, has 19

volunteers, though they can’t always attend prac-tices due to work or other commitments.

“We have people who do shift work at the mills, guys who are in camp for logging, but they’re home on the weekends, and oth-ers like myself who work in town.”

The fire department hasn’t had to respond to a fire call since December, though it has responded to a number of medical calls.

“We actually have a very, very fire safe community,” he says, noting there are the occasional calls for a minor chimney fire.

“We haven’t had any big structure fires, no forestry-type fires, not even grass fires.”

But that doesn’t mean members aren’t busy. In ad-dition to attending non-fire calls, volunteers are work-ing on other projects.

Last year, for example, the fire hall was expanded.

“We needed more room,”

Pogue says. “We had three trucks in

the hall initially and if you didn’t have a road map or tie a string to your foot, you would never find your way back out again.”

Now that the expansion is complete, the fire hall has a 45-by-45-foot free span training room.

The department is also working on a water hydrant project.

“We are putting tanks in the ground with pumps off Rose Lake so we will be able to have water access even at 40 below without having to cut holes in the ice,” he says, adding the tanks are in but the proj-ect can’t be completed un-til the water level at Rose Lake goes down so an un-derground pipe can be in-stalled.

However, he is optimistic the project will be complet-ed by the winter.

The expansion and the water hydrant project are two examples of projects

that can only be done by collecting donations.

“We don’t get anything from the government,” he says, noting that while the fire department is a Cariboo Regional District depart-ment and does receive mon-ey from taxpayers, there are only so many funds avail-able in the budget.

“Everything we do, right

from fuel to buying pens and pencils, everything comes out of that (budget).

“When you consider an SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus), air pack and frame, to replace it brand new is about $4,500 each.”

One of the other items the department is working on to replace is a water tank

on one of its trucks.“There’s a whole bunch

of things that are in the works, but you can’t do ev-erything at the same time.” he says.

Anyone who is interest-ed in joining the Miocene Fire Department can call Stan Pogue at 250-296-3338 or Norm Leslie at 250-296-4464.

Miocene department keeps community fire-safe

Tyee Lake Volunteer Fire Department

raising fundsThe Tyee Lake Volun-

teer Fire Department is raising funds for a new home.

Fire Chief Rick Jelley says fundraising is being

done through community events to build a proper fire hall/community hall and expand equipment.

“We are looking to raise about $60,000 (total).

“So far we’ve got $25,000,” Jelley says, adding that people who would like to donate can contact Jelley at 250-392-4818.

Miocene VolunteerFire Department

Miocene Volunteer Fire Department members are (back row) Brenda Proctor and Jo Doyle; (middle) Deputy Fire Chief Norm Leslie, Phil Lotzer, Rusty Furlong, Dora Althaus, Training Officer Thomas Bauer, Jane Barnett, Peter Van Immerzeel, Kevin Bendickson, Bruce McKeown, and Fire Chief Stan Pogue; and (front) Megan Flett, Rudy Klassen, Brenda McKeown, Thais Dasilva, Shirley Furlong, Tammy Drodge (support), and Gord Flett. Missing from photo are Kathy Balogh and Paul Airey.


1075 N. Mackenzie Ave. 250-392-3522

A.R.S. Enterprises Ltd

� ank you to all the Fire Fighters and First Responders for your dedication

For all your automotive repairs CVIP Inspections • BCAA Approved

Tyee Lake Volunteer Fire Department

Tyee Lake Volunteer Fire Department members are Tony Clark, Graham Smith, Rick Jelley, Dale Flemming, Eric Halfnights, Cheryl Lawrence, Chris Lawrence, Irene Renschler, Albert Renschler and Tom Burke.


Beachcomber Hot TubsNew Waves Pool & Spa

beachcomber. the green hot tub company TM

Thank you for all your hardwork and dedication.

Page 11


Open fire prohibitions remain in place in Cariboo Fire CentreJenny FremlinCariboo Fire Centre

Between April 1 and Sept. 18, the Cariboo Fire Centre responded to 179 wildfires that covered 1,029 hectares.

Both the number of wildfires and the number of hectares burned were higher than the same pe-riod in 2011.

However, the 2011 fire season was one of the qui-etest on record. This fire season’s numbers are still below the 10-year average of more than 270 fires by this point, covering more than 39,000 hectares.

Open fire prohibitions remain in place through-out the entire Cariboo Fire Centre. They specifi-cally prohibit the burning of more than two piles larger than one metre by one metre, and the burning of grass over any area or size.

If you’re planning to conduct a burn, please fol-low these fire safety tips:

• Keep the fire sites away from buildings, trees and other combustible ma-terials.

• Do not burn during windy conditions.

• Have adequate people, water and hand tools avail-able to prevent the fire from escaping.

• Never leave a fire unat-tended. After extinguish-ing the fire, always ensure that the ashes are cold to the touch before leaving the area.

The onus is on the indi-vidual to ensure that per-mitted fires are ignited and maintained safely. Anyone found responsible for an escaped fire may be held liable for fire suppression costs and damages.

Every season, Cariboo Fire Centre personnel are involved in numerous pub-lic events that often focus on providing forest fire prevention information. This season was no excep-tion. Fire centre crews, staff members and Smokey the Bear visited schools to teach students about camp-fire safety and how to re-port a wildfire (by calling 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone). Staff also set up display booths at various commu-nity gatherings, providing

information to residents about fire prevention, fuel management and Fire-Smart principles.

During less active times in the fire season, fire-fighting crews make it a priority to undertake fuel management projects.

This season, crews were involved with a project be-hind Chilcotin Estates that had them pruning trees, creating more space be-tween trees in the forest stand, and removing com-bustible materials from the forest floor.

This was all done to help reduce potential wildfire threats in that area. Other project sites included an area along Airport Road and an area directly across from the Williams Lake Regional Airport.

There have been two

wildfires of note within the Cariboo Fire Centre so far this season: the Enterprise Road wildfire and the Big Bar Creek wildfire.

At its peak, the Enter-prise Road fire covered 271 hectares. This light-ning-caused fire was first discovered on July 18 and is fully extinguished.

The Big Bar Creek wild-fire was first discovered on Aug. 21 and was mapped at 406 hectares. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and because some areas of the fire are inaccessible to fire crews, some smoke may be still be visible within the fire’s perimeter. This fire is cur-rently at a “patrol” status.

The Cariboo Fire Cen-tre was able to assist other agencies this summer with their wildfire response. Crews and personnel were deployed out of province to multiple jurisdictions, with the most recent being Washington state. Crews from the Yukon also as-sisted with local fire sup-pression efforts during the middle of August, after wildfire activity here in-creased.

Photo courtesy of the Cariboo Fire CentreThe Big Bar Creek wildfire was discovered on Aug. 21 and was mapped at 406 hectares. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Likely Fire Department

Sponsored by this community minded

business.

Valley General Store

5007 Likely Street 250-790-2245

• Lottery• Groceries• Gas Bar• Liquor• Tackle• Open 7 days a week

Marvin Doney shows Lyn Salmon how to use a fire extinguisher in some training the Likely Fire Department put on at Spanish Mountain Gold, in Likely.

Big Lake Volunteer Fire Department

Big Lake firefighters include Vince Sorley (front left), Lee Sollenberger, Murray Dyment, Russell Dyment, Sharon Bruneski, Ray Bruneski; Dana Paul (middle left), Virginia Waters, Roger Mayer, Ken Waters, Vic Woods. Joel Bruneski (back left), Scott Sollenberger, Dan Swan, Ross Woods, Karl Schiemann.


1-866-868-4663

250-392-7212Supplying Manufactured & Modular Homes for over 33 years.

Beside the Husky South Mackenzie @ Hwy 97 www.bobpatersonhomes.com DL#7116

Page 12

Many fatal fires start at night

Smoke alarms save lives

As most Canadians turn back the clocks on November 4, here are some timely smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) safety tips:

change your clocks, test your smoke arlam.

less than three minutes to escape a fire. So when smoke alarms sound, ev-eryone must know what to do and where to go. Having and practising an escape plan is essential.

on every storey and outside

bedrooms if you sleep with doors closed.

are fully powered. Never take out batteries or remove an alarm from ceiling due to a false alarm.

fuel-burning devices such as a gas furnace, gas water heater, gas appliances, or an attached garage or carport, install at least one CSA-approved carbon monoxide outside all sleeping areas. One per storey is recom-mended.

-ery 10 years, and CO alarms every 7-10 years (depending on manufacturer) whether

battery operated or hardwired into your

home’s electrical system.Carbon monox-ide is colour-less, odourless and tasteless. So without a CO

alarm, humans cannot detect its

presence. Despite the average home hav-

ing several potential sources of the deadly gas, studies show that nearly 60 per cent of Canadians have not

-dition to being impossible to detect, CO also has another nefarious trait. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure mimic the flu, without the

-sible for thousands of clinic and hospital visits each year, and is commonly misdiag-nosed. Prolonged or extreme exposure causes nausea, diz-ziness, confusion, the loss of physical mobility, brain dam-age and ultimately, death. More home safety resources can be found on the www.safeathome.ca web site.

into home fire deaths very often find that a smoke alarm did not sound.

been discon-nected or not in working order. The batteries may have been dead, or some-one may have taken them out. Smoke alone won’t necessar-

fumes could put you into an even deeper sleep. Often, victims never wake up. Se-

niors will often need assistance from fam-ily members to put safety measures into place. As well, family mem-bers are in the best position to reinforce the precautions necessary to help their loved ones prevent or respond to a fire. Focus on

these six priorities to help aging family members pro-tect themselves against fire in the home.

INSTALL smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.

Larger homes may need ADDITIONAL smoke alarms to provide enough protection.

For the best protection, INTERCONNECT all smoke alarms so when one sounds they all sound.

An IONIZATION smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires and a PHOTOELECTRIC smoke alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires. For the best protection, both types of alarms or combination ionization and photoelectric alarms (also known as dual sensor alarms) are recommended.

Smoke alarms should be INSTALLED away from the kitchen to prevent false alarms. Generally, they should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from a cooking appliance.

REPLACE all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.

Only a working smoke alarm can save your life!FIRE PREVENTION WEEK OCT. 7-14

“Fall back” to smart home safety

Analysis was undertaken on almost 50,000 fires that occurred in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario over a 5-year period involving 663 fatalities. The findings demonstrated that the death rate per 1,000 fires in the absence of a present, functioning smoke alarm was 74% greater than when a functioning smoke alarm was present.

In case of fire - GET OUT AND STAY OUT – never go back into a burning building

the nearest exit maintaining contact with the wall.

it is hot, do not open. Use analternative route.

cool, stay low with your shoulder against the door while opening slowly. Be ready to close the door if smoke and heat rush in.

closed doors as possible between you and the fire, and seal all cracks in doors and windows with towels or bedding.

fire, stop where you are, drop gently to the ground and cover your face with your hands while rolling back-and-forth to put out the flames.

cold water.

Documents

October 09, 2012