Al6O - Sumday, April 4, 1982 - North Shore News ing = reporter ee by Ellsworth Dickson f There is no doubt that the B.C. Ferry system is one of the more impressive fleets in the world, but maybe there are a few things that could be improved. Today’s question is: “Are you happy with the service of B.C. Ferries?” Justin Hillaby North Vancouver It could be improved. I would like to see a nice dining lounge instead of just a cafeteria. I'm happy with the number of sailings, but the fares are somewhat high. Gary Coldicou North Vancouver Yes, Iam. But 1 would like to see better food facilities. I think the service and the fares are fine. It would be nice to have a bar on the longer sailings. Marcus Bagnall North Vancouver 1 think the service as bad during the tourist season There should be a separate ferry for all those trucks Pm plad there is no bar tts tough enough to drive off fernes sober the Bev McKillop North Vancouver I dont take Uhe ferrics that offen but when | have Fo ocant: complain The os stall were very (rendly and othe claim chowder was caccllen ™ Susan Part North Vane ouvc: No Pooteavel con thre ferries frequently ane somectuyes Lo have to watt two trovses harvap strete changes Also 1 tind the fron lemperatares fat tome boot Thre te SD toe separate fernmes for the locks exsen lor the small inter ustand ferries bottaek the Fares ate COW lhe clan ote wides Keo Vesal tbee re ce eh oatie [ome med on tore choco re Fire stats up ‘significantly’ FROM PAGE At another $95,000 and incidents are still investigated. Overall, 1981 stands out as a memorable year for fires in North Vancouver District. All emergency calls were up ‘‘significantly”, says McDonald, with a total of 2,426 calls — an increase of 15.2 per cent over 1980 responses. During the same penod, fire loss figures showed a “dramatic” increase of 55 the being per cent on the previous year , — reaching $1.63 million. McDonald qualifies the figures by stating that when they are adjusted to the 1971 Consumer Price’ Index, Distnict’s actual loss was “somewhat less than ‘the average for the past 10 years.” Of the 19 emergencies involving hazardous materials, McDonald reports that the most serious was the hushed-up hydrogen-chlor- ine explosion at the Maplewood chlorine manufacturing plant of Canadian Occidental (Hooker Chemicals). That incident was handled by plant staff and only came to the attention of the emergency services some days later when the North Shore News contacted the fire department following an anonymous call to the newspaper by a Hooker staff member. Hooker management stated they did not consider the incident an emergency situation. The fire chief states: “This failure to report resulted in a tightening of our fire bylaw which now requires that any spill, explosion or situation presenting a potential hazard must be immediately FREE Qss Photo Albums A QSS photo album will be given tree with each rolt of film (110, 126, 135mm) that we develop and print tor you! Offer not valid with “$1 OO Off’ coupon While quantities last € . Japan Camera Centre ° Capilano Mall 987-0780 reported to the fire chief. McDonald also notes increases in vehicle fires — up 24 per cent over the previous year — and a 27 per cent increase in bush and grass fires. MEDI-RESCUES One service that is noticeably adding to the fire department's work load is medi-rescue_ calls. These calls have increased by a further 26 per cent in the past year and now account for 42 per cent of all alarms received by the District department. . : McDonald concern of many Greater Vancouver fire chiefs about providing this assistance to the provincial health services without remuneration and who are seeking relief for the service. District firefighters responded to 899 inhalator first aid and rescue emergencies dunmng the year. They were called to canyon areas nine times and though there were no fatalities a number of people, including one firefighter, were injured during rescue operations. False alarms also take upa major amount of fire department time. The year saw 140 false alarms, both malicious and accidental. Most continued to be from schools, due to oversensitive equipment, although _ the school district is continuing to work on that problem. Expansion and_— con- struction work at Lions Gate Hospital also resulted in an unusually high number of false alarms to the hospital. The 137-person fire department lost a total of 872 shifts during the year due to absenteeism. Mc- Donald notes that this represents the loss of almost six men for the entire year. shares’ the for 82 Suzuki other . nada’s Come to Kinsway Suzuki for a no- strings attached test drive in the new. 4wd van! power of a new engine, enjoy the comtom and convemence of a new 400 KINGSWAY, NEAR 12TH! | The year saw 13 firefighters injured in action. Two citizens died during fires. A man died from asphyxiation after escaping from a fire at his home and then returning to retrieve personal papers and an elderly woman died of burns as a result of her night clothing catching light on the kitchen range. NOW OPEN North Shore Public MINI STORAGE Various sizes of storage space to choose from 139 Riverside Dr. N. 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