Hornby Island Fire Rescue

I got a call a few days ago from a Hornby Island Blues Society volunteer saying that they needed a replacement venue for a bass workshop. I asked if a truck bay would work and in less than ten minutes he dropped by to check it out for himself. I spent a couple of hours clearing the plan and was thrilled to call HIBS back to say it would work.

Ten students showed up this morning to learn bass guitar techniques from their  instructor, Gary Kendall, one of the finest blues bassists in the country.

I’m exited to share our beautiful new firehall with them for the next couple of days and so pleased that HIFR is able to help out with this fantastic festival.

It’s been a pretty dry spring so far and the forest is starting to get a bit crunchy. All backyard burning, other than campfires, will require a permit. Permits are free and we write them on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It requires one of us come to your place to make sure that the pile is safe.  You will need to have a hose or other water deliver system on standby and some hand tools to pull the pile apart if required.

Please be kind to your neighbors and only light up your pile when the venting index for Central Vancouver Island is good.

To get your permit call the fire hall at 250.335.2611 and leave a message or talk to the chief.

Here is an interesting article on the  ventilation system at our  new Firehall. We recently had a small routine repair on a part, and one of the designers wrote a very interesting article on how they tackled a unique challenge in the design of our building.

Click the picture for a link to the complete article.

As we all know, the air we breathe can be subject to lots of pollutants. From cars to factories to our very own burn piles in the wetter months. While it may be safe to burn from a fire prevention standpoint, it’s important to check the venting index for our area to make sure that the smoke and particulate can easily dissipate. You will see on the side of the page a link to a great new interactive map that shows the venting indexes all over the province. Please be neighbourly and check the index before you light up your pile. We will also leave the link here for a little while so everyone can get used to it. Just click the picture of the map and it will get you where you need to go. Thanks.

This year’s Cadet Camp is completely full. Thank you for everyone who has registered. We are so sorry for anyone who tried to register but ended up on the waiting list.

For more information about the camp, you can go to the Cadet Camp page.

The latest update from the CVRD on our awesome new fire hall. Click the image for a bigger version.

Free CPR classes

Never learned CPR, or learned it last century? Here’s your chance to get up to date. HIFR is offering free classes that will show you how to do the current simplified CPR technique, and how to use the automatic defibrillators that are stationed around Hornby–all in about an hour. You won’t get a certificate, but you will learn how to save lives.

Contact John Heinegg, 250-335-0470, to sign up for a class.

With all the talk about emergency preparedness that we’ve been seeing lately, I thought I would pass this on to our community:

The BC Cattlemen’s Association has partnered with BC Ag Safe, with funding from Imperial Oil, to put on an “Emergency Management” workshop throughout the province over a nine week period starting February 27^th.  They will be covering topics such as how to safeguard your operation from emergencies such as fires and floods, how to create a safety plan, what to do in the midst of an emergency and who to contact for assistance and resources after an emergency.

These workshops are open to all agriculture commodity groups, as well as acreage/rural land owners. If you or another representative are planning to attend, please RSVP back to me at bree@cattlemen.bc.ca or call 250-573-3611.

Below is a list of the workshop locations and dates, with venues currently being secured.

• Tuesday, February 27: Fort St. John 4pm
• Thursday, March 1: Vanderhoof 9am
• Saturday, March 3: Smithers 9am
• Thursday, March 7: Quesnel 9am
• Wednesday, March 8: 100 Mile House 9 am
• Wednesday, March 14: Kamloops 9am
• Wednesday, April 4: Williams Lake 9am
• Wednesday, April 11: Cranbrook 9am
• Thursday, April 12: Grand Forks 9am
• Monday, April 16: Penticton 9am
• Tuesday, April 17: Vernon 9am
• Wednesday, April 25: Comox 9am

They will be sending out a reminder invite, with the exact address in the next week, but look forward to hearing from you.

After the tsunani warning last night I’ve had a few phone calls from people asking how they can ensure that they are notified of a imminent emergency.

The Comox Valley Emergency Program has a notification system to keep residents and businesses informed in a timely manner. Alerts will be sent to a mobile phone OR via voice message on a landline and can be tailored to the community in which you live. Sign up for it here.  If you want to receive alerts relevant to Hornby Island make sure that you select our zone  which is Electoral Area A (Baynes Sound – Denman/Hornby Island)”.

If time allowed, the secondary notification would be HIFR driving our five trucks through affected neighborhoods broadcasting the warning over our loudspeakers.