Members of the Bowen Island Fire Department were called to a total of 182 incidents in 2016. Only seven of these calls were fires.
“Ninety percent of our calls are medical and most happen between 6pm and 6am,” says Fire Chief Ian Thompson. According to the annual incident report, the fire department was called in to help with 22 breathing incidents, 16 falls and 19 cases of chest pain.
The report also states that Bowen firefighters provided assistance to 1 motor vehicle accident and 3 traffic injuries.
“I’m pretty sure that two of the traffic injuries were cycling accidents,” says Thompson. “And one was a case where someone fell at a cross-walk.”
Thompson says that one of his biggest concerns remains downed power lines.
This issue is referred to in the 27 public hazards that the department has dealt with in the past year.
“These were all downed power lines,” he says. “Even though we’ve had some public education and outreach on this, I’m not sure everyone understands the danger here. Many people still think that if a power line is not sparking, it’s dead. That is not the case, and if people are using generators, it is possible that electricity is going back in to the lines.”
Thompson urges people to call 911 immediately if they see a downed power line.
“We’ve had crews babysit a line all night, just to make sure no one gets near it,” says Thompson. “But we have a direct line to BC Hydro so we can let them know exactly what’s down and where.”
The Fire Department is also in the process of making two new hires. Thompson says that according to insurance underwriters, the department should have between 34 and 36 members, but the fire station can hold a maximum of 32. Right now, there are 27 members of the Bowen Island Fire Department, including Thompson.
