Linda Bartsch
Special to the Tribune
The Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) started the summer working with BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) on two fires caused by lightning strikes on 108 Road and in the Miocene area.
Both of these fires were attacked very quickly by HVFD and extinguished before they grew and became a dangerous situation. HVFD has been training, and obtaining the equipment, to work in the sprinkler protection program with BCWS.
This is a relatively new and very effective method to protect structures from wildfire. Structures and whole neighbourhoods are protected by creating a wet bubble that fire goes around and not through. A water source is found, sprinklers are installed on all buildings and exposures.
“We make it rain” is a simple way to think about it.
The first deployment was in Nazko, in a fairly remote location west of Quesnel from July 13 to July 27. HVFD took a crew of five and the Sprinkler Protection Unit (SPU).
It is a priority of HVFD to have a full contingent of members available in Horsefly at all times to respond to emergencies, and this fact is taken into consideration when deciding to deploy or turn down requests to help other communities.
The Nazko deployment was very interesting and HVFD was welcomed by the community there. The crew was very pleased to have been involved in saving several homes from that stubborn fire that kept wandering around the area. The crew followed the fire as it moved throughout the community, taking down sprinklers after it passed an area, and putting them up where the fire seemed to be heading. The distances were huge and the days were long, but the crew held up until the threat passed.
An interesting note was the crew of 100 firefighters from Brazil who came to work on the fire. It was run like a military operation.
They were teamed up with the Hot Shot crew from the United States who had been there for a while and knew the area well.
The camp cook house was staffed by a group of Ukrainian refugees, who did not speak much English, but who were great cooks. The crews enjoyed perogies for breakfast.
The second deployment was to the Adam Lake complex fire from August 3 to August 27.
The Shuswap area had a lot of fire activity and BCWS needed all hands on deck. The Adams Lake deployment was very busy and HVFD worked with several other sprinkler protection crews. The combined effort resulted in 47 homes and a Girl Guide Camp being protected from the fire.
There were six SPU trailers to pull equipment from, and the HVFD crew learned many new skills from working with some of the most experienced firefighters in B.C. Camp was a very diverse place again - the Brazilians were sent there as well, they were joined by a crew of 100 from Costa Rica, and a different group of Hot Shots from California. The camp where we stayed ended up burning to the ground shortly after HVFD had to go home.
The money earned from these two deployments is being set aside to purchase a new water tender, so that we can retire the old black International. The truck has done extremely well in the community and delivered a lot of water when it was needed badly. But it has a lot of issues and needs to be upgraded.
A training highlight for HVFD in 2023 was the Vehicle Extrication Course held in the spring. The department is now fully trained, and fully equipped to work on road rescue scenes.
Current members are: Joey Augustine, Linda Bartsch, Heather Beaman, Julie Caron, Kacey Caron, Marc Caron, Andrew Gould, Bert Groetelaars, Steven Hoessl, John Hollan, Gary Isaac, Tracy Janzen, Ian Johnson, Kyle Kershaw, John Lucak, Mike Ludwig, Cecil Morhart, Katherine Rempel, Andrew Schoenle, Abby Wilson, Kevin Wilson, and Ron Wilson.
Linda Bartsch is a member of the Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department
READ MORE: COMMUNITY BUILDERS: Horsefly fire hall receives truck donation from Enbridge
READ MORE: Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department hones swift water rescue skills
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