Dear Editor,
As a volunteer at the Richmond Maritime Festival last weekend, I was surprised and concerned by the fire under the Steveston Harbour Authority (SHA) dock. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the fire was detected early and successfully extinguished.
Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue (RCMSAR) members volunteering at the festival smelled the creosote, saw smoke and used their boat to immediately investigate from the water. They notified the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (Coast Guard) and requested a fire boat.
As the smoke billowed over the pier and the flames spread underneath, RCMSAR volunteers communicated with Richmond Fire Rescue Service (RFRS) members.
Richmond firefighters came aboard the RCMSAR boat, Jimmy Ng, and assessed the fire from the water. The fire was spreading and the Richmond firefighters brought a hose down and began to fight the fire from aboard the Jimmy Ng. The SHA responded quickly and joined the fight to save their historic dock built in the late 1800s.
RCMSAR members on the Jimmy Ng retrieved another pump and rejoined the SHA and RFRS. Together, they fought the fire until it was put out.
Although fighting dock fires isn’t a specific function for the RCMSAR, it is very reassuring for the public to know that, in a crisis, the Coast Guard and our local RCMSAR volunteers can adapt to dynamic situations, make sound operational decisions, and exercise good judgement while assisting other emergency services in an incident command system emergency. Inter-agency cooperation and inter-operability worked.
Richmond Fire Rescue Service members, Steveston Harbour Authority personnel and Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue volunteers should be very proud of how they worked together to protect a historic dock and keep our community safe.
Andy Hobbs
Richmond
