.

Vou co Pat Pe

REGEQLGR GEES GEtCn Sov Gy

BROCE ON after 30 years with N.V. City Fire Department is “Jake” Begley, 66. “Growing old ion’t ¢ ‘bad especially if

After 30: years John ‘‘Jake’”” Begley will finally be

4Ba on altermative,’’ Ben says. f

“WT oecona phote].

able to sleep without having to keep one eye open.

‘I don’t think I ever sleep, my subconscious is

awake,”’

Begley, born in Toronto
and the youngest of. nine
children, was the guest at a
dinner reception last week in
which Mayor Reid, other city
officials, and firemen honor-

ed him for his lengthy
service. He retired. in
December. ;

The 671”" and 225-pound
captain returned to the
firehall Friday and gave this
writer a tour of. the hall,
pointing out the part of his
life he will leave: behind. —

_ “On night shift one never.
‘knows when that emergency

bell will ring,’’ he says.
‘‘And when it does it is a
shock to your system. Ima-
gine you're laying on your
back, and that bright light
comes on ... it’s’ jarring.”’
The set up at the firehall is
such that when a caller rings
the emergency telephone
number, a shrill ring echoes.
through the building with a
simultaneous increase in
brightness of the neon lights
overhead.

COME DOWN FIRST

During his 6-year-stint as
captain the visibly. young
Begley felt it was his duty
‘*to comme down first (from his
quarters) in responding to
any call. By so doing I have
more time to assess the
situation and determine how
many men I'd take with me.”’

Dressed in a dark blue
officer uniform, Begley re-
called in a North Shore News
interview how things have
changed: ‘‘When I started as
a fireman there were only
five men on any given one
shift. Today we have a
possibility of 17 including
fire chiefs and wardens."

Begley joined the depart-
ment at age 30, fresh out of
the Canadian Air Force
where he was a_ radio
technician. ‘*Back then when
1 started we were trained on
the job. I remember those

says the 60-year-old captain of the’ 30
years he has spent with the North Vancouve

Firehall on Thirteenth Street.

uver

City

drills. with ‘wooden — hand
ladders. Today the hall has a

100-foot aerial ladder among

other modern equipment.”’

He spent 16 years as
fireman, eight years as a
lieutenant and six years as
captain. It was on his shift as
captain, he says, that he
responded to two of the
major fires in his career.

LOST HOSE

One disaster was the fire
at Burrard Terminals which
was heavily destroyed on
Oct. 3, 1975. ‘‘We had to
walk up to the fifth level as
the fire raged above several
floors. We were carrying a
brand new 1% inch hose
when we realized there were
no hydrants.’’ The trouble
was that at that time they
didn't have water on every
floor. (Regulations now re-
quire they be installed)... |

‘*From the fifth floor,”’
continues Begley, ‘‘we had.
to drop one end of the hose to
the ground to be hooked up.
But we never made it. The
building was shaking and we
had to take off. We lost all
those 1“inches of beautiful
hose.”"’

The subject of his second

memorable call was the
Norwegian cruise — ship
‘‘Meteor,’’ which caught fire”
at sea on May 23, 1971 with
numerous passengers on
board. — °

The ‘*Meteor”’ was

brought closer to
tugs and firemen were able
to tackle the blaze, Begley
says. He recalls vividly - how
he and his menhelped recover
a number of the 32 bodies
which later were found.
The bodics of. both male
and female crew members
were inside the charred
compartment.’’ The door to
the cabin was locked, but
firemen gained entrance and
found evidence that the crew
apparently was celebrating

started. |

Encounter in 2 ' bodies
wasn’t. anything. rare in
Begley’s work, but he would
prefer finding survivors, he

Your

beats, ter fitir
. LOU CROSSIE

§80-6561_

|-arranged—especially: for  .7-
‘Hawaii,

130 WES

'NORT ri 1 /ANCOUVER

says. Evidence of his dedica-

tic> for life is the 64 pints of
blowd he has donated to the
Red Cross over the years. He
praises those at the firehaii
for their. equal zeal in
responding to the blood
donation drive ‘‘in giving the
gift of life.’’ oo

Despite his share of.
horrifying experiences Beg-
ley admits ‘‘l was always

apprehensive when going to
a call. There’s the pressure
of doing the right thing.’’

- | continued on page 12.

tee

holidays

Cruises & Charters.

HARTZ MOUNTA
CAT LITTER iotesy

10 Ib.
25 Ib.

suggested
retail

our
price
$2.19 *

$4.49 °1,99
$7.69 *3.39

DISCOUNT PET FOODS AND SUPPLIES

1320 Marne Drive,

ahd igh ke tee es

North Vancouver 988: 5012

|

page 11, January 12, 1977 - North Shore News

fe pone Pee et

We will be an outlet for new & used
furniture as weil as a marine tradina
post - specializing in yacht rigging,
instrument, engine, steering and

compass installation.

25." cash for the bes
918 Lonsdale

send entries to:

with Polyester and Nylon prints

regularly priced from $4.00 - $6.00 per
yard all oniy $2. 00 per yard

ETE Ss : ain

witha Mordic

| Comforter

Nordic Down comforters are made on our OWN PREMISES. .
We use only the FINEST FABRICS and the best PRIME
GOOSEDOWN. EXCELLENCE. In WORKMANSHIP and

DESIGN Is our pride. Low overhead costs onablo us to offor
you our comforters at the BEST PRICES IN VANCOUVER

CALL FORA

FREE BROCHURE 731-0713

Soredic THE TAIGA WORKS

3155 Granville /16th

ay sthity

Api abatahe

ey abe