News and Information Update

Its been a while since I have had an opportunity to post anything, so here is the latest news.

Cam will be starting his first day on the new job beginning next week. We will spend approximately one month on orientation with him and then the 4 day on / 4 day off shift pattern starts right after Canada Day Holiday - Monday July 5th. There is lots of opportunties for volunteer firefighters to participate in daily activities and additional training time. All you have to do is let us know what you want. Reminder also that there is an opportunity for qualified volunteer firefighters to fill in as holiday and relief staff on weekends and stat days. A sign up sheet will be put up in the training room.

Reminder that Evan Parliament (CAO) will be speaking to the Association this Thursday night.

Call activity seems to have increased as of late. Two structure fires were reported, each on a Friday during the day. The first occured on Friday, May 14th. There were a few tense moments as only the Chief and Deputy were available to respond. We were joined some minutes later by Chris how was finishing up one of his jobs from his past life. Fortunately the fire was contained. A towel thrown over a hologen bathroom light fixture ignited and caused damage to the wall, light fixture and counter top. Some light smoke damage was also evident. About $500.00 in damage. The second fire, the following Friday occured in the morning and was the result of a faulty toaster catching on fire. Luckily the home owner had a large fire extinguisher and was able to knock down the rapidly spreading fire. Fire damage was contained to the kitchen, however significant smoke and dry chemical powder was found throughout the house. Damage will probably be in the $10,000.00+ range for this one. This being the Friday before the long weekend resulted in more firefighters attending with a total compliment of 9 on scene.

An early morning roll over MVI occured on Gillespie Road. The female occupant rolled her pick up truck over and down an embankment. She managed to free herself and crawl up to the roadside where bystanders helped her until emergency services arrived. Injuries were not life threatening.

If you haven't been by the Prestige Hotel lately, the fourth floor is now under construction. This building keeps getting bigger. Site work has now begun at the Evergreen Mall in prepartion for the construction of the new Shoppers Drug Mart. Work on Sooke Road between Charters and Phillips will continue for the next month as BC Hydro installs new underground wiring. As soon as this is completed, the repaving of Sooke Road will begin. Work on the Mariners Landing site is expected to get underway within the next month. This will include a reconfiguration of the Church Road intersection.

The Annual Firefighter Appreciation Banquet has been tentatively set for Saturday, October 16th this year. More information will follow.

Sooke has been selected to host the British Columbia Fire Prevention Officer Convention in May of 2012. This is great news for the community, the convention centre and hotel. The fire department will only have to play a small part in this event as most of the work is done by a committee consisting of FPOABC members.

A large trailer has been purchased to store and transport the District of Sooke display that was featured at the Ozone, the Rotary Auction and at the Vancouver Outdoor Adventure Show. The trailer it is now in has to go back to the generous owner that lent it to us. It will be in the fire hall for a few days until the load can be transfered and then moved to a suitable storage site.

Some work is planned for both fire stations as part of an energy refit and to meet the "green" requirements set out by the Province. Included will be new low energy light fixtures throughout both buildings and the change from propane to natural gas in Station 1. A new washing machine is now installed in each fire hall for turn out gear cleaning. Do NOT use these for other cleaning chores. Next up will be the installation of emergency power at Station 2. There is also a rush to try to get the Sooke Station 2 sign completed for the upcoming Communities in Bloom judging. Anyone interested in helping on this project - please contact me.

The canopy has been removed from 208 and the water tank and pump installed in anticipation of summer (hard to believe with the current weather). If you are unfamiliar with its operation, please check with one of the staff for a quick lesson or refresher.

Well that's it for now.

Recruits Pass Their Test

Well its finally over. This years recruit class managed to get through the probationary period with hardly a scratch. They began with live fire training at the Prestige Hotel site, moved onto basic training, worked towards their Firefighter Level 1 certification, completed their written exams and now they have successfully completed their practical exams. On to the next class. So here are the newest "FIREFIGHTERS" of Sooke Fire Rescue Service: Congratulations to Darcy, Kevin, Alex, Noah, Kyle and Darrell. Not to leave out Allen, he is also done his probation, but as he was already qualified he did not have to suffer through the exam process. Well done guys and welcome aboard.

Big News

Congratulations to Cam Norris-Jones. With the approval of the budget at council on Monday night, the fifth firefighter position is official. This is great news for the department. Not only does it provide us with another firefighter during the critical day time part of the day when most of the volunteers are out working, it will allow us to provide additional training time on weekends, more opportunities to get out in the public and provide fire and life safety education programs and more opportunities to get those inspections done. It also takes a load off the officers shoulders as they now only have to worry about the night portion of the duty shift as the day time hours will be covered by the paid crew. So, on July 5th, we will be switching to 7 day a week coverage, with crews rotating an 11 hour shift doing a 4 day on, 4 day off rotation. Hopefully this is the start of many great new things to come for the department.

Next Weeks Events

Next week is a busy busy schedule as there are two - count em, two council meetings to attend. This is to enable the 2010 financial plan to be approved as well as several public hearings are also being presented.
Congratulations to this years recruit class on completing their training and also all of their written exams. On to the practical testing this weekend. Best of luck guys. Looking forward to that dinner you will be preparing.
We are about to start another recruiting drive. We are down to 42 members so we have room for eight new persons. If you know of anyone that might make a good candidate, please encourage them to apply.
This weekend is the Great Lioness Duck Race. If you are able to help with the Bounce House, please be at the flats at about 11:30. Next weekend is the grand opening of the Spirit Square and the new Performing Arts Stage at McGregor Park - This will take place on Sunday, May 16th. The FF Association was offered and agreed to run the hot dog and popcorn concession as a fundraiser. Please contact me as to who will be attending. May 29th is Western Foods Anniversary Sale. Again we will be preparing hot dogs and running the bounce house. All proceeds are donated to the Association so a good turnout would be appreciated especially considering how much Western Foods supports our efforts in the community.
McHappy Day was a big success however I did not see any firefighters in attendance. We raised a considerable amount of money for Ronald McDonald House. I even learned how to cook a McDonalds Burger and how to put fries in a container. May be a use for me after this job after all.

Dinner Plans

If you don't have dinner plans or just want to help a good cause, I will be at the Sooke McDonalds on Wednesday, May 5th is support of McHappy Day from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Stop by for a Big Mac or provide a donation to support Ronald McDonald House.

Parking Issues

The District of Sooke along with the local emergency services are looking at all areas where parking is a problem and access for emergency vehicles is difficult. This may include narrow streets with parking on one or both sides, turnarounds and cul de sacs where people are parking, fire lanes, and other emergency access points. We are about to have a strategy meeting on how to deal with these issues. If you know of places where this is a problem, please let me know so we can add these locations to our list.

Committee of the Whole

Last nights COW meeting featured a presentation by Sooke Youth Group on all of the work they have been doing in the community. Lots of inititave shown here and as a fire department, we should continue to support the good work they do. Staff Sergeant Wright gave a talk on policing and the results of their recent audit. He also outlined where they will be concentrating their resources and what the community priorities are.
An application for a Development Permit for the new Shoppers Drug Mart was reviewed by council. This is a rather large building proposed for the Evergreen Mall and will take up almost 18,000 sq feet of space as well as complete reconfiguration of the parking lot, landscaping and entrance way. They hope to have construction completed and doors open by November 25th.

Emergency Prepardness

Two displays, the Rotary Auction at the Arena followed by the Emergency Prepardness Expo at the Juan de Fuca Libaray were well represented by Sooke Firefighters and a handful of ESS personnel. The crew at the Rotary Auction handed out many home prepardness packages to local residents and even had a couple of draw prizes to give away. There seemed to be a lot of interest by local residents in being prepared and what we can offer for assistance. The Emergency Fair the next day in Colwood proved to be a bit of challenge with the cold and blustery weather. Sooke had two of the fire truck bounce houses up and attracted many kids. We also managed to spend some time talking with other ESS groups and viewing their set ups. It was felt that our best course of action is to acquire another trailer and set it up with emergency supplies to be better prepared for disaster relief. We may also be in line for some emergency supplies through Shelter Box and the Rotary Club. More information will follow as that becomes available.

I'm Back

Sorry to have been away for this for a while but things have been rather busy as of late. I will try to give you a summary of things that have happened over the past two weeks. To start with, Chris and I along with Russ Nicks of whale watching fame and Ron of Eagle Eye along with Sean our university student and finally Sarah from the municipal office traveled to Vancouver a couple of weekends ago where we set up the Sooke Booth at the Vancouver Outdoor and Adventure Show. This seemed to be a very popular show as there were thousands of people in attendance, many of whom stopped by the Sooke Booth to visit, talk or find out what was going on. I would have to say it was a huge success. The booth received many compliments and we were invited to take it to several other shows including Tradex at Abbotsford, Calgary and even Toronto. Guess we will have to wait and see on those. With some new refinements, we have cut down construction time to only about 6 or 7 hours now, but it still takes upwards of 4 or 5 hours to dismantle and put away. Many District of Sooke employees got to find out just how much work it is as we set it up again at the Rotary Auction this past weekend. Again, many good reviews as well as finding another use for the "Boardwalk" - It makes a great stage - who knew? Anyway, it is now safely packed away until the next show - whereever that may be.