Fire prevention and department news for Hornby Island Fire Rescue
The tank at the bottom of Sollans had its plumbing completed last week and the Chief was able to fill it by pumping it full of groundwater. That leaves only the tank at the top of Euston Road to be completed before all of our new tanks are in service.
For a list of all of our tanks have a look at the water supply page.
Jed has finished with the plumbing on another water supply tank, we have pumped it full of water, and it’s now ready to be used. Sure, the landscaping leaves a bit to be desired, but that will get fixed up when the ground dries out a bit. We’ve been really lucky that there has been enough groundwater near the new tanks that we have been able to pump directly into the tanks instead of shuttling 15 loads per tank from the fire hall.
The next tank to come on line will be at the corner of Sollans and Brigantine. The ground is pretty wet there right now, so we’re hoping that we can fill it with the portable pump as well. Stay tuned.
Our contractor has completed the installation and plumbing our latest water storage tank at the corner of DePape and Porpoise. The tank has been filled over the last few days and is now fully functional.
Normally we would fill the tank by shuttling 15 loads of water from the fire hall to the tank with our tanker. Fortunately, with all of the recent rain, the creek beside the tank has been running quite strongly and we were able to fill the tank with a portable pump.
When the ground dries out a bit the contractor will return to fix up the landscaping. Look for another fantastic mural by a local artist shortly after that.
Perriwinkle Road is next in line for plumbing and filling.
In the event of a fire, HIFR cannot rely on having an endless supply of water from a hydrant the way urban centers do. Our hydrants come in the form of the ocean, backyard ponds, or one of the many storage tanks that we have placed around the island.
When the situation calls for it, our pumper truck can empty its entire load through hoselines in under 5 minutes. We need to be able to get water on scene as quickly as possible. To this end, we have contracted Jed Young to install 4 new tanks at pre-determined locations around the island.
Tanks will be installed in the following locations:
Jed has sandblasted and painted the tanks with a rust resistant paint. The tanks are now all in their proper locations. They need to be backfilled to hold them in place, plumbed with fire department hookups, and then filled with water. We are still on schedule for having all of the new tanks usable by the end of the year. Look forward to additional landscaping during the upcoming spring season.
We are thrilled to have the Hornby Island Arts Council take a keen interest in integrating the storage tanks into the island landscape. They have coordinated island artists to paint murals on each of the tanks as funding comes available.
Graham Herbert has completed the latest project with his beautiful mural on the Sandpiper tank on Central road. The Whaling Station tanks on St Johns Pt Road is the next one to be done. Glen Rubina has been commisioned for that job. Elaine Savoie is also lined up for a mural on the Savoie Road tank.
