) Lover needs answers PAGE 42 Assistant fire chief ends career by battling condominium blaze RETIRING NORTH Vancouver District Fire Department assistant chief Bob Christie, 59, began his last working shift Sunday night knocking down an angry fire which destroyed several suites of a brand new condominium complex in North Vancouver. **I had just come on shift and I thought the guys were pulling a stunt on me. I thought that I was going to pull up at the address and find nothing there.”’ Yastead Christie joined dozens of his firefighting comrades to battle smoke and flames one more time before hanging up his uniform at the close of his shift Monday mor- ning. Christie first served with the district fire department December 5, 1955. North Vancouver District had just established its.own fire department the year before and the North Vancouver City Fire Department still covered the Norgate, Keith Lynn and North Lonsdale areas of the district. Said Christie: ‘‘The city dispat- ched to all district halls and we didn’t even have radios in our pumper trucks.’’ When Christie first began as a volunteer, each of the four distzict fire halls, at Deep Cove, Lynn- mour, Capilano and Lynn Valley, was manned by one man on duty and about half a dozen volunteers. Choosing to become a firefighter was no accident for Christie. His Glasgow-born father worked for the Victoria Fire Department dur- ing 1912 and 1913. Christie’s father, Bill, and mother, Bessie, moved to North Vancouver in 1920. Christie was born in North Vancouver General Hospital in 1930. ‘“‘My Dad was quite a shutter bug. We always saw these pictures of the Victoria Fire Department and there was a drawer full of but- tons and memorabilia. At the time I was asked to join here, he advis- If we missed you on Monday, you can still say yes with this coupon. Enclosed please find my donation of NAME: ADDRESS: _CITY: There's still time to God knows you can n make a difference. The Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal 611-198 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1F12 + Please send receipt for income tax purposes to address below: By MICHAEL BECKER ed me it would be a good step to take.”’ Every firefighter carries inside his head the afterglow of the more spectacular fires attended. Christie remembers the day in 1958 when the dry kilu at Lions Gate Lumber went up in flames. “The building was full of milled lumber, It just lit up the whole sky. There was a scarcity of hydrants, low water pressure, and the wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour. The Vancouver fire boat assisted, and I believe it was the only time the fire boat assisted the district,’’ Christie said. As with most careers, it’s the people you find yourself working beside who make a job more than something you do to earn money. Said Christie: ‘‘I feel I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had tremendous support from the people l’ve worked with. There is a_ real fraternal aspect to the job. It can be difficult in the halls sometimes. You have to work at keeping the harmony with everybody. It’s like having two families.”” While human nature hasn’t changed much since Christie became a firefighter, technological innovation has changed the effec- tiveness of today’s fire crews. Fer example a station’s alarm room is equipped with computers plugged into fire inspection infor- mation detailing address locations in the community and potential fire hazards posed. “The department got radios 681-9311 for the 1989 Red Shield Appeal. POSTAL CODE; about eight months after I started. We didn’t have compressed air tanks when I started. We just had a mask with a filter. If your ox- ygen content was down, you were out of luck,’’ he said. But Christie can look forward to plenty of fresh air. He plans to retire to a new home being built on the shores of Green Lake in the Cariboo FRESH CUT NEWS phote Nell Lucenta RETIRING NORTH Vancouver District Fire Department assistant chief Beb Christie is hanging up his hat after more than 33 years’ duty with the local fire department. KENS’ PRODUCE 980-2547 FRUIT BAR FRESH LOCAL SPINACH