Sechelt Fire Department wants your old car for training purposes

Would you like to give your old car the dignified send off it deserves?

Then the Sechelt Fire Department wants to hear from you.

The fire department is looking for donations of old cars to be used as part of their extrication (Jaws of Life) training, during which it will be cut apart as part of simulated patient rescues from a variety of vehicle accident scenarios.

Steve Achterberg, deputy chief of prevention for the Sechelt Fire Department, says the cars are used as part of regular training — so long as they have vehicles to cut apart.

“We train regularly to keep our skills sharp,” says Achterberg, who adds the fire department isn't looking for just any old wreck.

The car has to have four wheels, be able to roll or, at least, be pushed, and have all of its doors.

“They need to be intact so that it would be a realistic scenario,” says Achterberg. “And they need to be clean and free of mould or garbage and that's pretty much it. We'll tow them from anywhere around Sechelt for free of charge for the owners.”

Achterberg says the vehicles can have a few scratches and dents, but they need to be clean because they often put real people inside them during training and don’t want them inhaling mould or other noxious fumes, which could hurt their health. He adds, the vehicles are not used for fire training for the same reason.

“We use natural-gas props for simulating car fires because we don't want to burn all the plastics and all that sort of stuff,” says Achterberg, who notes the department has had two cars donated since the campaign began a week ago.  

Anyone with an old car they want to donate to a worthy cause, can call 604-885-7017 to arrange for it to be picked up or towed.