News of the Week

Despite the hot dry weather, September has proven to be a quiet month for fire calls.  Perhaps the burning ban on campfires has helped as we certainly had a number of incidents before the ban was in place.  With the weather turning now, it is likely the ban will be lifted soon however if the fire calls increase the ban may be re-instated. 

New uniforms have arrived for anyone that didn't already have one.  As such, the requirement to wear your uniform at FD functions will now be enforced.  This means Thursday training sessions, (or other training times) public education events or basically anything at which you are representing the fire department.
Some basic planning has begun in prepartation for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Sooke Fire Rescue Service (2013).  We are looking for ideas from the membership on what events they would like to see as part of this historical milestone in our history.

The interviews and agility testing for the new recruit class have been completed.  Many thanks to those that came out to help, especially the members that assisted the Deputy Chief with the interview process.  It looks like a very good group this year.  Training will begin next month and will take place on alternate weekends instead of Wednesday nights this year.  This is a pilot program so time will tell if this works out or not.  We are hoping for input from the class at the end of the program on how well it worked.  Any firefighter wanting to assist with instructing at one or more of the sessions is certainly encouraged to do so.  A schedule will be posted by the training officer.

It appears that this years Annual Western Communites Fire and Life Safety Expo for the Grade 4 students will be postponed to spring due to the possibilty of job action by the teachers.  Stay tuned for new dates of this very popular event.  (Between 800 and 1000 students participate each year).  The Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill will still proceed on October 20th.  A variety of public education events are starting to show up.  We hope to have a few activities during Fire Prevention Week that members will participate in.

Emergency Operations Centre training is now a scheduled event for all municipal staff.  This will take place on the fourth Thursday of each month from 11:00 am until 12:00 and then repeated at 1:00 to 2:00 pm to allow staff to rotate shifts and still cover customer needs in the municipal offices.  Any firefighter or ESS member is welcome to attend and participate at these sessions. 

There are lots of new courses and training opportunities coming available.  Check the listings in this blog and the sign up lists in the training room.  We are also hoping to host a Pumps and Pumping course in late fall.  Assistant Chief Barney finally has a date that he can get the First Responder instructor bridging course completed.  When completed in mid October, look for First Responder courses to start appearting for members needing new licenses or renewals for existing ones.  Sooke and Otter Point FDs have offered to jointly hosting an exciting officer training program entitled "Beyond Helmets and Hoses"   This is an accredited program through the Canadian Fire Chiefs Association and will cover a variety of subjects on how to move into officer positions from firefighter.  This weekend course will be offered late this year or early next year depending on availability of the instructors. 

And finally it is nice to see our injured firefighters on the mend.  Looks like we will be able to see them and offer our sympathies (or whatever) at the upcoming banquet on October 1st.  (yes it is almost that time) 

Firefighters rescue one of their own

Sooke Firefighters were dispatched to an early morning motor vehicle incident in the 5300 Blk of Sooke Road involving a car and motorcycle.  Ambulance crews were already on scene treating the injured biker and firefighters were quick to learn that victim was a fellow volunteer firefighter.  It appears he has suffered fractures to both wrists and will face two surgeries, rehab and about 10 weeks of cast time.  It appears that the vehicle in front of him suddenly decided to do a U-turn leaving little room for the motorcycle to maneuver and he hit the car square in the drivers door.  Fortunately the injuries were not more serious.

Today began as a quiet day, but the evening quickly got exciting.  A three car MVI at Sooke and Dover left cars with moderate damage and only minor injuries.  This was followed by a first responder call a little over an hour later.  10 minutes after that an alarm bells call at an apartment block came in followed one minute later by another first responder call.  20 minutes later a smell of smoke call and then another 20 minutes another first responder call.  While this was going on, staff were attempting to interview and outfit new recruit firefighter candidates.  Wow, busy night.  Lots of paper work for the duty officer.

Work on upgrading Station 2 continues to move along.  Exterior painting should start soon.  After 26 years, the building is starting to show its age.  A work party is being held on Sunday the 18th and we could still use a few more members to help.  Breakfast and lunch is included.  What a deal.   Please help if you can, even if for just an hour or two. 

Station 2 as it was when if first opened in 1986.  Only the trucks have changed in 26 years. 

Forest Fire Hazard Climbing Again

With the recent bout of hot weather, the fire hazard is already back to HIGH. With that came a mutual aid call to assist Metchosin with a tree fire at Camp Thunderbird. Might seem like a bit of overkill for a tree fire, but this was no ordinary tree. The cedar was about 6 feet across, hollow in the middle and close to 200 feet tall. The fire had started at the base and was burning well over 100 feet off the ground. A professional faller had to be brought in to bring the tree down at which point crews spent a good couple of hours getting the fire out. To top this off, the morning fire occured at the same time as dozens and dozens of parents arrived in their cars to collect their kids from summer camp. This created a giant traffic jam as the sinle lane road was clogged with cars going up and down the road while negotiating around fire trucks and tanker shuttles.

It has been a rather busy week for calls these past few days. Another MVI occured on Sooke Road at Parklands when a vehilce left the road and into the gulley. The car didn't travel to far as it hit a tree but it was balanced rather precauriously on the crumbling bank. Crews used the winch from Rescue 1 to secure the car to allow the driver to exit safely. He suffered a hand laceration from his hand jamming the steering wheel. Otherwise he seemed OK.

Yesterday Sooke FD attended three calls almost at the same time. Luckily it was a Thursday night practice night so many firefighters were available. The first involved a 16 year old male cyclist hitting a car on Sunriver Way. He suffered a serious head laceration and numerous cuts and scrapes. Full spinal precautions were taken. While this was going on a burning complaint came in soon followed by another first responder call.

It is almost time to take on the new recruit class. Assistant Chief Mcleod was put through the paces last night as he fine tuned the new agility test. Since he came up with the test, it seemed only fair that he try it out. Luckily he survived so it appears the test is ok. Look for some new faces as we have 5 new applicants and 1 returning firefighter this fall. They will be attending for an orientation next Thursday night.

The paperwork has all been signed for the E-One pumper truck that we purchased. We are now working at finding the most reliable and economical way to get the truck shipped to Sooke from Arizona. It should be arriving within the next month.

Don't forget to RSVP Jan at the fire hall if you plan on attending this years Firefighter Appreciation Banquet. (It would be good to call or email if you cannot attend too!)

And finally the new exterior lighting project is finished. These new lights are certainly doing a much better job illuminating the parking lots. This means that the gym has power again too. Along with the lights, the removal of some of the landscaping has improved sight lines and safety concerns around the building. New plants will be installed this fall to fill in the voids.

Extreme Forest Fire Hazard Raises Concerns

Despite the one day of rain today, the recent bout of hot weather and never ending wind has certainly dried out the forest. This can be seen by the number of recent fires having been attended. There have been three on Harbour View Road, the most recent of which occuring at night. Crews did an awesome job getting this under control before the fire hit the forest. The fire was stopped only inches from the tree line. If we had been another few minutes, it certainly could have proved quite disasterous. Other recent fires included an out of control beach fire on Ella Road, another at Billings Park and a couple of set fires in Broom Hill Playground. Another attempted fire was found on the Gatewood Trail. Once the drying trend returns (tomorrow) please be careful out there and remind others to be as well. Reminder that campfires are NOT permitted in parks.

On another note, a tragic incident occured at the Sooke Potholes when crews responded to a medical emergency, only to find a woman had drowned. Firefighters recovered the body and carried her back to the parking lot for identification. RCMP are investigating along with the Coroners office.

It was a busy week for MVIs to. At the same time as the Potholes call, a single vehicle MVI with three occupants was attended on Sooke River Rd. The pickup truck went over the bank and down about 30 feet. The three young men suffered a variety of minor injuries and were very lucky to get out in the condition they did. A two vehicle crash on Sooke Road at Manzer Road created a big traffic delay. One vehicle was severly damaged, but luckily no serious injuries. A three car crash at Sooke and Otter Point Road again had no injuries. One of the vehicles was parked at the time and suffered some serious damage.

Starlight Cinema and Movie in the Park has now ended for the season. While the first three nights had good sized crowds, the Firefighters Association showing of Marley and Me was poorly attended. It was a shame as the funds were supporting a good cause. Maybe we should try again next year we advertising can be done well in advance.

New lighting is being put up in the parking lots of the fire hall and city hall. As a result the power is out in the gym. Hope to have the work done by Friday. Speaking of work on fire halls, Station 2 is undergoing a long overdue face lift. New panels are being installed over the old warped siding. A new coat of paint will also be applied to the exterior along with some minor work to the interior.

And finally about this blog. It is difficult to keep up with this due to other work constraints. As a result I will do a weekly update each Friday so look for more news this coming Friday and then each week after that. If you would like to have something added, please send me an email outlining what you would like to see or post.

Mutual Aid Call for Jordan River Fire

Yes, I know its been a while since my last post, but here are some updates starting with the fire in Jordan River on the morning (very early 3:30 am) of May 14. A request for mutual aid was made by the Shirley Fire Chief for an engine and tender to attend a structure fire in Jordan River with a 1000 gallon propane tank as an immediate exposure. Arriving on scene, Chief Ray of Shirley had a shorthanded crew working one line while the remainder of his members were setting up for a tanker shuttle. Crews faced a fire in a pump house, a generator shed, a large workshop, a 30 foot steel boat inside a wooden structure all fully involved along with the large propane tank immediately adjacent to the fire and a house that was starting to smoke from radiant heat. Due to the propane tank, apparatus was staged back on the roadway making the need for very long hose lays. Crews were successful in cooling the propane tank and saving the house with only minimal heat damage to one side. (enough to break the windows). Another tender was called from Otter Point (call was originally made to OP as well as Sooke but with the radio system not working well in this area, that part of the transmission was lost in the original call for help) Tenders had to drive all the way back to Sherringham Lighthouse to fill up and return. While the fire was brought under control but far from out, a second call for another structure fire came in, this one on Anderson Road at the Shirley / Otter Point Border. The Shirley Engine stayed behind while the Shirley tender and Sooke Engine responded to the second call for help. Another engine was called from Otter Point as well as additional tenders from Metchosin and East Sooke FDs. Luckily the second fire was quickly contained to the attic where it started as a result of a chimney fire. With all the additional tenders now on scene crews were sent back to Jordan River to finally extinguish the first fire. The fire began when the propane powered welder the owner was using due to the power being out set the shed on fire and quickly spread when one of the 100 lb propane tanks attached to it BLEVEd. The second tank also let go and has still not been located. Considering the potential for many things to go wrong on this site, a great job was done by all firefighters and no injuries were reported. The homeowner even located all his cats safe and sound.

Haz Mat Spill in Goldstream Park closes TCH

A major Hazardous Materials event on the Trans Canada Hwy through Goldstream Park shut down the only major route between Victoria and points up Island when a fully loaded B-train fuel tanker truck overturned and crashed into the rock face of the Malahat. The crash caused the majority of the contents of one trailer to spill. This dumped approximately 30,000 liters of gasoline onto the road and surrounding ditches. From here it travelled by culvert, under the highway and emptied into the Goldstream River where it worked its way down to Finlayson Arm. The original call came into Langford around 6:00 pm on Saturday. Sooke Fire Rescue Service offered containment boom from our large cache located on Whiffin Spit. This was quickly accepted and along with our Haz Mat trailer, an initial crew of four firefighters responded to the scene. With only one haz mat technician from Langford on scene, two of arriving Sooke Firefighters trained as Haz Mat Techs were put into action to do an overall scene assessment. So Chief Sorensen and Assistant Chief Barney went in with full protective gear and a camera to bring back information for the IC. We quickly determined that there were three tanks in each of the two trailers. Starting from the rear, Compartment 1 had the top dome missing and most of the contents were gone. Compartment 2 had broken the welds and the contents had spilled out, compartment 3 had a hole big enough to climb into from its impact into the rocks and was mostly empty. The next trailer was in better condition. Only the centre tank, containing diesel was leaking slightly. The other two compartments appeared to be intact. Once out of the hot zone, we reported back to IC and worked on a variety of plans. Decontamination zone was set up, booms were placed in the river and Colwood FD set up their big Foam monitor to apply class B foam to the entire scene. From there, it was a hurry up and wait as a variety of experts, provincial ministry personnel, fd peresonnel, truckers, crane operators, tow truck drivers, RCMP, commercial vehicle inspectors and many more all descended on the scene. It wasn't until 5 am the next morning that the initial crew made it home. (Besides the Chief and Assistant Chief, Captain Burket and FF Sutherland were on scene. Firefighter Norris-Jones joined us later as he was in the area. The next morning a relief crew was sent to Langford to assist with the decontamination, foaming of the area and providing protection as the RIT team during the unloading and righting process. Thanks to all those Sooke firefighters that volunteered to attend. Finally at 4:30 pm the second crew arrived home. The Malahat Drive was closed a total of 22 hours and many lessons were learned from this event that will be shared with the officers and senior staff of the DOS as well as other emergency response agencies. It was a miracle nobody was killed or seriously injured in this and from what the experts say, it was very unusual for this type of call not to result in a catastrophic fire.

More Chimney Fires

Just when we thought spring was in the air, chimney fire season reappeared with the cold snap. A total of three were attended to last week. One suffered serious damage to the chimney. This was in an older house with a brick chimney through the centre of the home. The child's bedroom that the chimney passed through was completely filled with smoke although the two small children got out safely. Large cracks were observed around the entire chimney with approximately the top 6 feet coming loose. Crews were on scene for three hours trying to get the bricks to cool down as they were at 200 F for a long period. It appears that the fire got between the clay liner and the brick face and was burning between the two parts. A hole had to be made to allow water to enter the void space and cool things down. An entire wheel barrow of soot and creosote was removed from the cleanout. All in all a tough but well fought battle. Things could easily have been much worse. Crews did an excellent job in getting this difficult fire under control. The other two fires were a little less dramatic. One occured in a brand new home with a metal chimney. While no significant damage was caused, the homeowner was quite distressed. The likely cause appears to be the use of wet wood. The other call occured in an older house but with a new chimney. Heavy creosote was found in this metal chimney, but the fire was quickly extinguished with no further damage being caused.