Clarenville - The Telegram

SECTION C PAGE 6
THE PACKET, CLARENVILLE, NL, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010
www.thepacket.ca
THE PACKET, CLARENVILLE, NL, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010
www.thepacket.ca
SECTION C PAGE 7
Our Volunteer Firefighters- there when we need them...
Going beyond the regular call of duty
As hurricane Igor tore through rural roadways and flooded homes and businesses, many citizens throughout the Eastern region turned to their local volunteer fire departments for help.
The members of these departments responded with great vigor; in many cases they became the very link between communities cut off by enormous
washouts, long before one-way lanes and bailey bridges could be established.
Volunteer Gerald Thomas of Musgravetown’s fire brigade describes how they transported prescriptions across a large road break in the area of Lethbridge.
“I would stand on the edge of the washout on one side, the excavator would lower his bucket, I would put the parcel in and he’d swing it over to the person
on the other side,” he said. “A member of the Princeton Fire Department then took it from there and passed it down the line.”
When the power went out, they also responded to a local seniors’ home and got a generator going to power oxygen machines and other devices.
The amount of need in the community was overwhelming.
“Our fire department received 45-55 calls on our paging system from people wanting assistance in different ways, like with flooded basements, and with
getting medicines and generators out to people. There were so many that we had to screen the calls, not that they were not all important, but we had to respond on
a priority basis. Medicines and things like that were first.”
Thomas praised the dedication of volunteer firefighters and others assisting with hurricane relief and road reconstruction.
“Many of these people had flooded basements and storm damage of their own at home,” he said.
Bonavista’s fire department also received a high volume of calls after the storm. Their plan of action included manning the fire hall in shifts.
“We had teams on at the fire hall the whole time the power was out,” said volunteer Corey Whiffen. “Three on a team for two hours at a time, just in case there was
a call and the phone lines were down. After the storm we started pumping water out of residents’ basements.
“A lot of people had generators, but their pumps couldn’t keep against the water, because it was running in so fast. So that’s why they called us - they were in a
panic and didn’t know what to do.”
The water was unreal, Whiffen added.
“That was the first storm I’ve ever seen like this and hopefully the last.”
As fire departments worked effortlessly to assist others, the Five Coves Volunteer Fire Department on the Bonavista Peninsula was doubly challenged with
having to protect their equipment in the process.
Their fire hall flooded during the storm.
“We were at the fire hall on Tuesday when all this water and everything started to build up,” explained Moss. “There was about three feet of water on the floor
when we got there and it was rising. We waited for about an hour or so to see what would happen, but the water kept rising. We had no choice but to evacuate
They moved their clothing and fire-fighting gear to the community centre, attached to the fire department but on higher ground.
“We cleaned everything out that we had and took the trucks out, but of course, we had to open the (fire dept.) doors…once we opened them, we got more water.
We were going around with knee rubbers on, up to our waist in water trying to get our trucks and everything out,” said Moss.
Fortunately, through it all the department lost only a fridge, a propane stove and a few other items. After a few hours, the community centre also flooded. Getting out of the
building at that point was difficult.
“We couldn’t get out,” said Moss. “We had to get someone to come with a four- wheel drive pickup and back to the door, so we could get on the pick up and get out. So we
put all our gear on top of the tables. The culvert gave out in the brook then and the water receeded to approximately four feet.”
On the following day, their members worked with the local service district and community volunteers to help restore two parts of their water line that had washed
out.
They also came to the aid one of their firefighters.
“They were stuck down on Bonavista Road waiting to get to their house, and wondered if we could do anything so that they could cross the brook. We managed to secure a
ladder across the brook, put some planks across and some ropes, and get him home.”
The stories are numerous, he added.
“If I could say one thing that came out of this storm, is the way everyone came together in the community…people couldn’t do enough,” said Moss.
Volunteer firefighters throughout the Eastern region also had their hand in distributing food as it was delivered to disconnected communities by boat or helicopter. Some
also carried residents from place to place on ATVs. In Southwest Arm, volunteer firefighters responded to people needing transportation to hospital.
“We had several medical calls to bring people from different areas in Southwest Arm up by boat to Long Beach in order to get them off to the ambulance,” said volunteer David Spurrell.
As with other departments, their firefighters were separated in various areas by washouts. The task of getting patients to and from was a process
involving a number of people.
“Basically we worked as a team for transporting people from one spot to another,” Spurrell explained. “With one lady in little Heart’s Ease, we
had to take her by truck down to a wharf and from the wharf we transported her across the harbour and to another truck which brought her to Hodge’s
Cove. Then we transported her down to a boat to go up around to Long Beach in order to catch the ambulance. We did that on several occasions during
the storm for different things like that.”
All volunteer fire department members were quick to say, that the way people partnered together was incredible.
“The way everything for Southwest Arm came together was unbelievable,” said Spurrell. “We all had a role to play and everyone done a superb
job with it.”
“For a first-time major disaster, you would say we’ve been doing it for years.”
Manitobia Dr.,
Clarenville
466-8080
Certified General
Accountants
466-2644
Town of
Southern
Harbour
463-2329
Bonavista
Mainway
468-7819
BONAVISTA
CONVENIENCE
468-7352
BRUCE WISEMAN
OWNER/MANAGER
0-4612862
For all your locksmithing needs.
0-4612989
0-4613609
Phone: 1-800-668-6868
Parson’s
Garage
463-8540
OR
463-2365
Town of
Arnold’s
Cove
Clarenville
Phone: 709.466-3245
Toll Free: 1866.355.0292
Fax: 1.709.466.3280
19 Shoal Harbour Drive
Clarenville, NL, A5A 2C3
468-7350
and
Proud Supporters
of Kids Help Line
E-mail: brucewiseman@clarenvillehonda.ca
463-2323
0-4613260
0-4614205
RCMP
Clarenville-Bonavista
District
466-3211
For All Your
Automotive Needs...
Smith’s
Red & White
Store
Petley
547-2569
464-3836
0-4612850
468-2222
A Division of Bruce’s Recreation & Auto Centre Inc.
0-4613729
BLAGDON, TILLEY
AND COMPANY
3 Blackmore Ave.
BONAVISTA
PHARMACY
Cormack Sq., Shoal Harbour
Phone: 466-7624
For Emergency
Town
of
Trinity
0-4613638
468-2111
466-3014
We do a complete line of Mechanical Work
• Brakes
• Wheel Alignments
• Exhaust
• Towing
“QUALITY AUTO SERVICE...just for you”
City Tire & Auto Centre
CLARENVILLE
466-2661
38 Manitoba Dr.
• 24 Hour Call 466-2257
www.citytire.com
Wally Ploughman - Manager
0-4614232
468-7747
Fire Hall
Town of
Come By
Chance
542-3240
0-4612817
Bonavista
Fire
Department
469-2571
11 Shoal Hr. Drive
0-4612917
Town
of
Bonavista
0-4613746
Bonavista
4185
0-4613547
Web: www.mhplawfirm.com
0-4613271
0-4613111
0-4613285
472-4506
0-4614092
P.O. Box 111
Creston South, NL A0E 1K0
Phone: (709) 279-2442
Fax: (709) 279-2481
466-LOCK (5625)
or 466-4226
Municipality
of
Trinity Bay
North
0-4612961
466-2396
466-2622
0-4614209
www.youngsice.com
64 Manitoba Drive,
Clarenville • 466-2300
0-4613537
1-877-767-9712
For Pickup or Delivery Of Nursery Sod
From Morley’s Siding
Call: Hayward Skiffington - 427-2969
Wayne Rogers - 277-2137
Clarenville
Ford
Ready to serve.
Random Square Mall
Clarenville
(709) 466-7194
1-866-860-5500
466-4567
Town of
Sunnyside
Nor’west Sod Ltd.
0-4612956
Design, Installation and Service of
Industrial Refrigeration Systems
Little Catalina
Volunteer Fire
Department
469-3133
0-4612974
Memorial Drive
466-1237
0-4612829
0-4613629
322 Memorial Drive
Clarenville
0-4613249
469-2940
373 Memorial Drive
(T) 709-466-7474/2671
(F) 709-466-7260
0-4613280
Catalina Home Furnishings
0-4613290
469-2541
Clarenville
“The Denture Specialists”
Check out our website at
www.clarenvillerealty.com
0-4613043
296 Memorial Dr., Clarenville
Phone 466-3434 • Fax: 466-3604
Toll Free: 1-800-563-7726
www.familymemorials.ca
Email: family@fewers.nf.ca
0-4612765
Value Foods
Clarenville Tel: (709) 466-6011
0-4612941
Family Memorials Ltd.
Catalina
Eastern
Hyundai
Clarenville
Denture Clinic
0-4613215
S.W. MIFFLIN LTD.
Make things better!
466-2641 or
1-800-563-5377 Toll Free
DURDLE’S
HOME HARDWARE
BUILDING CENTRE
0-4614127
0-4615793
466-7937
TOYOTA
CENTRAL
0-4612984
467-2726
0-4612826
Musgravetown
Town
of
Clarenville
0-4613217
Town of
0-4612843
The following businesses are
community-minded and
support their local
Fire Departments
0-4612982
0-4615838