fireboats FOUR QUICK-response fireboats proposed for duty in Burrard Inlet will go a lony way to. covering much-needed fire protection for local marinas and could provide firefighters with a source of water in the event of a major earthquake, ac- cording to North Vancouver fire chiefs. By Michael Becker News Reporter Reaction from the fire chiefs follows a recommendation from a technical sub-committee to the Vancouver Port Corp. and the five municipalities bordering Bur- rard Inlet to purchase four fireboats. Said North Vancouver City Fire Department Fire Chief Tom Cumming, who is also the chair- man of the sub-committee, **The worst-case scenario is the marinas: all wooden docks, boat houses. Any one of them, if you had a fire that burned across your gangway -— that’s it, your land forces are gone unless some boat comes over and puts it out. You could be standing on that shore watching all those millions of dollars worth of pleasure boats burning.” Earlier this year a fire hit the Lynnwood Marina. The blaze destroyed three boats, damaged about half a dozen more and scorched floats and a section of a mooring shed. According to North Vancouver District Fire Department Fire Chief Rick Grant, North Shore marinas are the areas most vul- nerable to fire along the water- front. “If you've got a fire closer to land and you can’t get to the water side of it, then you've got exposure,”’ he said. ‘*That’s where we’ve had most of our calls.” Grant said an analysis of water- front fire protection needs deter- mined that no one industrial complex on the North Shore re- quires 100 per cent water-side firefighting coverage. But, he said, ‘‘there are some areas where you have to supple- ment the land (firefighting response).”’ Grant added that fireboats would also provide a good and quick source of water if a large Fireboats needed for earthquake, marina blaze earthquake hit the Lower Mainland area and destroyed local watermains. The wo fireboats proposed to be stationed in North Vancouver would be operated by specially- trained firefighting crews. Opera- tion of the boats will require no extra personnel. Both chiefs foresee that all firefighters will eventually receive marine firetighting training. While some have questioned the need for four fireboats in the harbor, both North Shore fire chiefs believe the proposal is effi- cient and cost-effective. Said Chief Grant, ‘It’s because of the size of the harbor and because of the number of high- tisk areas inside and outside the harbor that would require a fast response. This isn’t the concept where you have the big boat com- ing with all that water right away. The quick response boat hits the fire when it’s small and tries to keep it small so it can be knocked out quickly. You have to have that number of boats to be viable to work. “If there is a call in Vancouver, they're going to send that boat, and a boat would come from North Vancouver to back it up. To say it’s overkill, it’s not. We couldn't respond from Vancouver to Deep Cove and call it quick response anymore,”’ he added. North Vancouver City will pay an estimated $35,000 annually for the fireboat service while North Vancouver District will pay $39,000 per year. The total cost to purchase four boats and a marine firefighting platform and train firefighters to operate the equipment is estimated at just under $3 million. Said Cumming, ‘‘Talking just for the city now, there could be a $300,000 boat that’s going to cost $35,000 just to us. | would never have gone to council asking for that type of thing. That would have been simply out the window. This is cost effective.” SE a a Index I Budget Beaters @ Business 8 Doug Collins .......... Mi Comics ............50. @ Editorial Page Bob Hunter Ba Lifestyles @ Mailbox M@ North Shore Now @ Dr. Ruth ® Sports BTV Listings @ What's Going On Weather Wednesday. cloudy with sunny periods and a chance of showers. Thursday, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs near 12°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885 Wednesday. October 10. 1990 ~ North Snore News - 3 NEWS photo Mike Wakefield Heli into it IT MAY not fit this year, but five-yeer-old Jonathon Barber checks out some oversized hockey equipment anyway at the Seymour Heights Elementary School Good as New Sate. The annual sale of children's toys, winter clothing, sports equipment and Halloween costumes will be held at the North Vancouver school this Friday and Saturday. For more information call 929-2116. News wins recycling award tue award was presented to the News on behalf of the GVRD by West Vancouver Mayor Don Lanskail, THE NORTH Shore News was one of ‘seven winners honored at the Seventh An- nual Greater Vancouver Regional District Recycling Awards banquet held last Wed- nesday night. Each year the GVRD recognizes the efforts of in- dividuals, businesses and organizations who show commitment to reducing solid waste in the region. Award winners were chosen from among nominees put forward by the public. Guest speaker at the banquet was provincial En- vironment Minister John Reynolds. In his speech, the West Vancouver-Howe Sound MLA confirmed the B.C. government's commitment to reducing the waste stream by 50 per cent by the year 2000, and said he personally hopes that it can be reduced by up to 80 or 90 per cent. The North Shore News was honored in the special awards category for its ongoing promotional, edito- rial and financial support of the Going Green on the North Shore community project, its editorial com- mitment to covering environmental issues, and its in-house implementation of multi-miatcrial reduction, reuse and recycling. and Rick North North Buchols. Award winners in the Individuals category included Harmony Poirier-Gebbie, a Burnaby 10-year-old who instituted a system whereby she collects her neighbors’ kitchen wastes weekly for her family compost heap; Langley’s Rob and Maureen Richard- son, who started and run Langley’s only recycling depot; and Scott Robertson of Burnaby, a disabled man who over the past five years has collected 96 tonnes of newspaper from his neighborhood to do- nate to Lions Club fundraising efforts. Lynne Wells was honored in the Schools category for her composting and recycling programs at Port Coquitlam’s Birchland Elementary. City Farmer, the non-profit: promoter of urban agriculture, was awarded the Community Group recycling award. The Building Owners and Managers Association of B.C. won an award in the Business category in ree- ognition of its paper recycling programs in 43 major office towers that constitute 50 per cent of the office space in the GVRD. Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks Vancouver District acting mayor