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Some residents may have heard and felt a large explosion on Saturday night. Shortly after the explosion we responded to a call for flames showing on Seawright Road which turned out to be a large burn pile. The two events were unrelated, though.

As it turned out a local had alerted the military to the presence of a Military Location Marker on the beach. Very shortly after being alerted, 19 Wing of CFB Comox come over in their boat to pick it up. Apparently, they took it off the coast of Flora Island and exploded it.

If you felt the shaking and heard the boom you now have an idea of what those things can do. If you come across one, do not pick it up. Call 911 or 19 Wing at 1.866.488.0889.

You may notice a strange fire truck driving around and wonder why the Parksville Fire Department has suddenly taken to providing fire protection to our Island.

The series of events started when we discovered two corrosion holes in the suction manifold of the pump on our own Engine 61. This 6” steel pipe is the inlet into the 1,050gpm pump on our Engine and needed emergency welding repair, which was completed by Captain Rob Zielinski the next day. We quickly confirmed that the plumbing on our 2004 Engine was still under warranty from Hub Fire Engines in Abbotsford. The difficulty was that the truck needed to be taken to their facility in Abbotsford and would have to be out of service for a couple of weeks.

Our community must have a certified front line Engine in order to maintain insurance coverage as required by the Fire Underwriters and you can’t just take the Engine away for a couple of weeks. Fire Chief Giff La Rose sent out a request to all the fire departments in BC and received offers of assistance from Prince Rupert, Sechelt, Oak Bay and Parksville. The Parksville Volunteer Fire Department, lead by Fire Chief Doug Banks, generously offered one of their front line apparatus, Engine 41, to provide the temporary coverage to protect Hornby Island.

The Engine came complete with all the equipment required for our operations; we installed our own Draeger Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. Our members spent an evening becoming familiar with the location of all the equipment and removing the gear off our Engine 61 in preparation for its trip.

We are very grateful to the citizens of Parksville and their Volunteer Fire Department.

Brian Peterson has donated a Dry Sprinkler Powder Aeresol (DSPA) unit to the Fire Department. The DSPA functions by activating the unit generator which is based on the inhibition of oxidation-reduction reactions of highly refined particles (aerosols) of salts and oxides of alkali and alkaline metals. These particles precipitate with the combustion of the aerosol-forming agent and remain in suspension for a long time. The process of high-temperature combustion of the solid agent that is located in the generator body causes the formation of fire extinguishing aerosols.

What this means is that the Duty Officer will carry the cannister and when arriving at a house fire, can activate the unit by pulling the ignition cord and throwing the cannister into the house, at the fire. The unit is able to control the fire, while awaiting the arrival of the Fire Department. Insurance Companies have recognized these units as reducing fire damage and will replace the unit, valued at around $1,200.  There are of course limits as to what the DSPA can do. They won’t help if the house is fully engulfed in flames.

Brian’s generous donation adds one more tool to our effective fire fighting capabilities.

Brian is the son of Sig and Elizabeth Peterson who purchased their lot in the middle of Whaling Station Beach in 1954 and built their cabin using odd pieces of plywood and still stands to-day. You may know Sig by the paintings he sells every summer.

Don is another son of Sig and Elizabeth and he and his wife, Debra, just bought a place on St. John’s Point Road with the intention of retiring here in a year or so. Don and Debra were neighbours of Giff and Suzanne, when they both lived on Sumas Prairie and are the ones who introduced our Fire Chief to beautiful Hornby Island.

A visitor to our island stopped into the Fire Hall today as I was about to go home after a call out. He had found a Military Location Marker or MLM on the beach at Tribune Bay. Knowing that it was a dangerous item and that it could seriously harm a child he put it into the back of his truck and brought it to the Fire Hall.

The Canadian Forces take these markers very seriously. They have a team of people  at CFB Comox who’s job is to pick these things up and properly dispose of them. I called them to say that we had one and before I made it home they had called back and arranged to come to Hornby in their boat and pick it up.

MLMs contain an intensely burning chemical and are used mostly in search and rescue operations. Occasionally they fail to completely burn up and can re-ignite. In fact, when we dumped it out to take a photo of it, a blob of phosphorous fell out and ignited on the concrete apron.

If you find one washed up on the shore be very careful of it. It is not a good idea to pick it up as it may dump some burning chemical on you or in your car. Mark it or flag it and call one of:

• the Fire Department at 335.2611
• the Duty Officer who’s phone number is at the side of this web page
• Joint Rescue Coordination Center at 1-800-567-5111

Even a small rural department like ours has gear that is underused, too old, or has been replaced with a better alternative. Firefighters Without Borders collects this gear and takes it to developing countries where they distribute it and give training in modern firefighting techniques.

Chief LaRose took a pickup truck load of helmets, bunker gear, hoses, old breathing apparatus, and some machinery to Vancouver Island where it was picked up by a FFWB rep for their upcoming operations.

It is satisfying to us that our old equipment is going to help out a smaller, poorer department instead of ending up in a landfill. Thanks to FFWB for all their good work.