Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Pemberton fire rescue calls up 20%

Council briefs: Development Services; operations department busy
news_pemby_briefs_web_by_alyssa_noel
FIRE FIGHTING Pemberton’s volunteer fire department saw an uptick in calls in 2018. Photo by Alyssa Noel

VOP Fire Chief Robert Grossman updated council at its Feb.19 meeting on the fourth quarter of Pemberton's fire department, which serves the VOP, Pemberton Meadows, Pemberton Heights and the Lil'wat Nation, and provides road rescue service to the entire Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Area C.

The department responded to 93 incidents in the fourth quarter, for a total of 389 calls for the year. This represents an increase of twenty per cent over 2017 numbers.

The majority of the calls-49 in total-were for medical assistance.

Grossman said that the fire department has recently recruited nine new volunteer firefighters in its fourth quarter.

This brought department membership to 29 by the end of the fourth quarter: one fire chief, 12 officers, eleven firefighters, and nine recruits.

Grossman also noted that six members of the department-Ben Hansler, Cameron Adams, Adam Malpus, Simone Jaggli, Jason Pospisil, John Harris, Ashton Sonnenburg, Kristopher Kirchner-are now certified to Level One of the National Fire Protection Association, having completed six weeks of training this year.

Following the meeting, Grossman explained that this allows the department to conform with guidelines set out by the province's Office of the Fire Commission.

With the training, members can lead crews, he said. "It makes it a little easier for myself," said Grossman. "Now I get a little bit of a break. Because when they weren't certified, I had to be on call a lot more."

Development Services

The Village of Pemberton (VOP) council received an end-of-year update from its development division at its recent Feb. 19 regular council meeting.

In its fourth quarter (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31), the VOP issued a total of 13 building permits, including five single-family dwellings and three single-family dwellings with suites. These totalled $3,587,720 in construction and $26,342 in permit fees.

This caps off a busy year for the VOP, which totalled $25,054,114 in construction and $389,750 in building permits in 2018, representing a 100 and 109 per cent increase, respectively, over 2017 numbers in both fields.

The VOP also collected $180,943 in development cost charges in the fourth quarter, and $532,076.18 for the year.

The division is being led by senior VOP planner Lisa Pedrini on an interim basis, while the VOP hires a development services manager, explained Richman, following the meeting.

"The CAO has done some restructuring that we have supported, and she's gone out to fill the position of development services manager," he said.

Operations department busy

David Ward, assistant manager of operations and development services, updated council on the ongoing work of the VOP's operations department at the Feb.19 council meeting.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the division carried out park maintenance, regular maintenance on the wastewater-treatment plant, and regular maintenance of the water-conditioning plant.

As reported by Pique, the department also awarded the contract for the downtown enhancement plan to Hazelwood Construction on Feb. 5. This occurred after the original tender period ended in Oct. 2018, with two bids coming in above the funding amount, causing the department to reduce the scope of project.

The newly constructed soccer field in the Village's recreational grounds was winterized in Oct. 2018. This involved one last mow and fertilization by the contractor and drainage of the irrigation system.

Ward explained that once the snow and ice melt, in early spring, the irrigation system will be brought back online and the contractor will visit and go over maintenance requirements.

It is anticipated that the field will open for use in September, depending on how long the grass takes to fully establish. Ward added that a new playground set was purchased and installed at Zurcher Park in October. A new gravel trail was also constructed along the south side of the park. A playground twirl has also been ordered for the park; it will be installed in the spring.