Willis Point Volunteer Fire Department

Here are some examples of home evacuation during a fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PiUVOmRAXk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OjgN6SsNso

Hello Pointers,

There are two fire safety tips to watch, the first is about barbeque safety and the second is stove top fire safety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNupQDZsqBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyrbiU0sB4s

Permits will be required for all open burning ( ie yard, beach, incinerator etc) starting April 20 th.Please come up to the hall on any Wednesday night after 7 pm to receive a permit .If you have any questions please call the Fire Chief at 250-886-6635. 

Thanks to everyone who came out to the 2008 edition of the Willis Point Golf Tournament!  For those who missed out, it was held on Sunday, September 14th right here in the point.   Various residents set up some truly creative and challenging golf holes in their yards making up a nine-hole championship course rivalling the design and prestige of other notable tracks like Carnoustie and Parksville Mini-Golf.  Teams of two embarked on the links under fabulous blue skies and mid-twenty temperatures with no wind.  Not bad for September!  After hours of golf and over thirty-five groups of two, the mixed team of Katia and Aran Puritch, with a score of thirty-four, were declared the overall winners.   Other winners included Isaac and Darren pine for having the most strokes and at tie for second place to the Douglas team and the Campbell team.  Congratulations to all the winners! 

The barbecue and bar were running all day with burgers and hot dogs for lunch and chicken and steak for dinner.  An estimated one hundred people attended keeping the Firefighters Association members hopping.  The proceeds from the golf tournament go towards the WPVFFA and thanks to such an amazing turnout; approximately one thousand dollars were raised!

The event would not have happened without the generous support of various sponsors, residents who offered their yards for an afternoon, and the golfers.  Thanks to our course designers and hole hosts:  the Tregears, the Campbells, the Wilsons, the Pines, Laurel & Steve, the Connors, the Williams, the Bradsons, and Bill Wright. Special thanks to Dave Lawrie for his leadership and coordination of the tournament and extra special thanks to this years sponsors who kindly donated all kinds of prizes:  Mark Roozendaal Preferred Homes Realtor, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company,  Armchair Cynics, Schindler Elevators, Canada Post, Air Canada and Jazz, Fidelity Mutual Funds, Acuity Funds, Aim Trimark Funds and, Bonnie Manning at Canaccord Capital Corporation.

Next up for the Firefighters Association is the Halloween party.  We’ll be putting on a fireworks display, bonfire, and party again this year.    Be sure to bring your bag of goodies for the ‘trick-or-treaters’.

Cheers,

Aran Puritch

Willis Point Volunteer Firefighters Association

I’m pleased to announce that Greg Elvedahl is the new Chief of the Willis Point Fire Department.  Greg was most recently a Captain with Willis Point and previously spent several years as a member of the Central Saanich Fire Department.  Being the Chief must be in his blood as his father spent many years as the Chief at Central Saanich.

On behalf of all the members of the department I’m pleased to welcome Greg to his new position.

Regards, Mark Roozendaal, Past Chief

All outdoor burning in the Willis Point Fire Protection District has been banned for the rest of the fire season. This ban includes incinerators, backyard burns, beach fires, and any other outdoor burning.

On Saturday the WPFD was called out twice.  For a a quiet little department it was a busy day.  The first call at 0920 was to a structure fire called in by a boat on the water.  Luckily, it was just a resident burning debris.

The second call at 1108 was to a single car MVI (motor vehicle incident) on Willis Point Road.  We were advised that there was possible entrapment.  Once on scene we extricated the occupant without the need of our “jaws of life” and transferred the patient to BC Ambulance.

On Monday night Willis Point was paged to a structure fire in progress in the 7500 block of Mark Lane.  When we arrived we found a detached garage fully involved.  The fire was extinguished and there were no injuries.  However, the garage and its contents were lost.

 The attached photos were taken by a neighbour, Art Jackson.

Effective April 16, 2008 burning permits are required for ALL outdoor burning in the Willis Point Fire Protection District.  This includes incinerators, backyard burns, camp fires, land clearing piles, and beach fires.  Permits are available from the Willis Point Fire Department every Wednesday night from 7pm – 8pm.

 We expect a total outdoor burning ban to be in effect by mid May.

Mark Roozendaal, WPFD Chief

Yesterday, one of our members, Jeff Irwin, participated in a 5km run to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy. But, it wasn’t quite the normal run…

Jeff ran in full turnout gear including SCBA. This meant that on his back he had about 50 lbs. If you’ve ever worn firefighting gear you’ll know that it’s heavy, really restricts your movement, and doesn’t let you dissipate heat easily.

Well done Jeff!

Click here for a video of his finish