During one of many stops on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District’s (TNRD) annual out-of-town tour on Aug. 16 and 17, the board of directors (including Barriere mayor Ward Stamer and Clearwater mayor Merlin Blackwell) and senior TNRD staff joined volunteer firefighters and their families to dedicate new apparatus bays at the fire hall in Blackpool and Vavenby.
These new bays were constructed to meet the needs of communities in the valley by improving accessibility and creating a secure space for essential fire protection equipment. In addition to the added space, both areas now house a structural protection unit trailer and other vital fire apparatus.
The need for these additional apparatus bays was highlighted during reviews of the TNRD’s fire departments in 2017. The projects at the Blackpool and Vavenby halls were completed in 2022, after the TNRD successfully applied for and received grant funding through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream (CVRIS). The combined project costs of $887,000 were paid for entirely through grant funding.
On Aug. 16 the TNRD Board of Directors was given tours of the newly-renovated fire halls in Blackpool and Vavenby, which were led by Blackpool Fire Chief Mike Savage and Vavenby Fire Chief Philip Weber. These visits were part of a full-day educational tour of TNRD facilities in the North Thompson valley, including the fire halls at McLure and Little Fort.
The TNRD administers nine fire departments, which provide structural fire protection in a number of rural areas within the Thompson-Nicola region. Additionally, Blackpool Fire Rescue and the Vavenby Fire Department each provide highway road rescue service within their response boundaries.
Deitrich Rempel, Chief of Blackpool Road Rescue and Assistant Chief for the Blackpool Fire Department, described the trucks available at their hall. “We have two pumper trucks, one tanker truck, one bush truck and the rescue truck here in Blackpool.
“We have 20 volunteer firefighters in this hall. We are the backup for Little Fort and they back us up in return. We are also the back up for Vavenby, specifically for bush fires. Our fire department has a great relationship with Chu Chua Volunteer Fire Department. Our hall has also been very supportive towards the Upper Clearwater Fire Brigade, donating breathing apparatus, foam and equipment to help them out there.”
When asked what the most meaningful part of the work is, Rempel immediately said “Saving lives and people’s homes. I’ve been involved in the fire department here since 1979.” His face lit up as his little granddaughter Bella ran up to hug him, wearing a child’s red fire helmet and T-shirt with a fire truck on it. When asked later if she might want to be a firefighter like her grandpa, Bella replied “Maybe when I’m big. Now I’m just a kid.”
Following the official ribbon cutting to dedicate the new bay, Savage explained the additional grants they have used to upgrade both the Little Fort and Blackpool fire halls.
“We applied for the Red Cross tier one and tier two grants and also UBCM grants. Combined they equalled close to $150,000 per hall for each. We had put together a list of all the equipment that needed to be replaced, everything we needed to meet current standards, and what we felt we needed for wildfire and structural. We used all of those funds to within $31.
“We’ve taken a 20-year plan and knocked 14 years out of it in six years. With the additional grants we got from BC Hydro, Wells Gray Community Forest for our water storage tanks, and funds from Trans Mountain Expansion, that put us leaps and bounds ahead of where we needed to be.”
Between the two fire halls in Blackpool and Little Fort, the funding and grants received provided for two 10,000-gallon water tanks (one for each hall), two 6,000-gallon water tanks in the Little Fort area, and three in the Blackpool area (one at Black River Contracting at Pump Town, one on the old highway near the old Star Lake School, and another located at Caroline Road).
The Upper Clearwater Fire Brigade has also received a grant from the Wells Gray Community Forest and, like Blackpool, has acquired three water tanks. Upper Clearwater now has one at their temporary hall and one at either end of their fire protection area, according to Savage.
To learn more about the TNRD’s fire departments and fire service areas, visit www.tnrd.ca/fireprotection.
