The Sechelt Fire Department had their hands full this week, dealing with two calls in two days.
On Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 20, firefighters were called to Sechelt | shíshálh Hospital after smoke began to enter the hospital.
Steven Achterberg, Deputy Chief of Prevention, told Coast Reporter there was a malfunction with one of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units, which caused smoke to filter into the hospital.
“We brought in mutual aid as well, just to help cover us while we were dealing with that call,” said Achterberg.
Assisting the Sechelt members were the Gibsons and Roberts Creek fire departments. Firefighters used a ladder truck to get onto the roof of the hospital to determine where the smoke was coming from and then helped in clearing it.
“Then they checked the unit and we just tagged it out of service and left it with maintenance to repair,” said Achterberg.
Corner of Ebbtide
The next morning, Sechelt Fire Department was called out once again in response to an electrical fire in a garage on private property at Wharf Avenue and Ebbtide Street.
“It was called in about 11 a.m. and then we dispatched. We had four trucks there and then we also called mutual aid from Roberts Creek and Halfmoon Bay to assist us with operations,” said Achterberg.
He added, while the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed, the incident is a good reminder to never charge anything that involves batteries and then leave it alone.
“We all use batteries and chargers throughout our daily life and this is just a good time to remind everybody to be diligent and safe when charging equipment, especially things like E-scooters and that sort of stuff. Those should be charged outside, away from the house, if possible.”
Achterberg also wanted to ask the public to please not drive over fire hoses that are in use.
“Today, we had to block off the scene just because the way the hydrants are, we had to get across Wharf Avenue with these large-diameter hose lines,” he said. “And sometimes traffic tries to skirt by and we may have hoses on the ground. That’s why we had to block off the intersection, to protect our staff and equipment, because it can be very dangerous.”
