Sunday, August 9, 1992 - North Shore News - 25

Fire engine green

West Vancouver firemen are doing their bit for the environment

WHILE THE color red is usually associated with
firefighters, as in fire trucks,-a group of West Vancouver

firemen are going green.

Six members of D-shift at the
No. 1 West Vancouver District
Fire Hall have been leaving their
cars at home and riding their
bicycles to work to help keep fit
and do their bit to he!p protect
the environment.

Martin Ernst is one of the
firefighting bikers and says he
hopes the efforts of the two-
wheeled firemen will encourage
others to use bicycles rather than
motor vehicles.

“The way it started out was
that we started going in some
dicycle charity rides and then we
thought we would ride our bikes
to work. There are six guys who
are riding right now but we have
16 peopie on the shift,’’ said Ern-
st.

He added that most of the
firefighters who ride their bicycles
to work live on the North Shore,
but some ride from Vancouver.

“Slowly we're drawing more
guys into it. We’re attempting to
shame others into joining us. We
kind of want to challenge other
fire departments into doing the
same thing,’’ said Ernst.

He added that one of the ad-
vantages of riding bicycles to
work is that the activity helps

OFF SUGG.
RETAIL \

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

firefighters stay physically fit.

“This is a very demanding job
and at the start all you had to be
to qualify to be a fireman was to
be fit. But now the requirements
have changed and it’s not enough
to be fit, but you have to remain
that way,”’ said Ernst.

Vancouver City Police officers
have been riding bicycles for some
time now and the B.C. Am-
bulance Service brought out bicy-
cles during the recent fireworks
competition held in Vancouver.

Ernst said the West Vancouver
Fire Department is now also
thinking about using bicycles for
some rescue calls.

**We'’re just thinking about do-
ing that for quick responses.
When an ambulance is called in
West Vancouver the fire depart-
ment is also dispatched and a lot
of times we get there quicker than
the ambulance,” said Ernst.

He is also a big advocate of
cyclists wearing helmets.

‘We go to a lot of bike acci-
dents and if you don’t wear a
helmet, you die,’’ said Ernst.

raw

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WEST VANCOUVER firefighters Geoff Graham, Ross Penhal!l, Tom Payne, Martin Ernst and Mark
Fonseca are a group of firemen who are keeping fit and helping to promote the going green

movement by riding their bicycies to work.

AUGUST 10 to AUGUST 16/92

elcome to the second
annuai Harmony Arts
Festival.

We invite you to jcin us in a
celebration of North Shore talent.
This new event features the rich
tones of music, and art, re‘lecting
the harmony and beatty of our
community.

For seven days, West Vancouver performers, and share in this
will come alive with concerts, art celebration in West Vancouver.

displays, Artbeat Windows of
North Shore Arework, street and FOR MORE INFORMATION
PLEASE CALL 925-3605

restaurant performers, Creative
Kids Day, Harmony Crafts and an
art auction finale of artwork by
Art in the Park artists.

Come mix with the artists and