Beiseker's Fire Hydrants

I heard that there were concerns voiced on Facebook about the effectiveness of Beiseker's fire hydrant system.  So here's the story as I understand it.

• The volunteers on the Beiseker Fire Department can use as much water as they need to for practice and checking out the system.  That is treated water in our fire hydrants so we are paying the going rate for water just like everyone else in town.  Our volunteers are very aware of that and do their very best to conserve water during their practices and testing.
• Not all of our hydrants are looped.  A looped hydrant can draw water from each direction and therefore maintain volumes more easily.  Hydrants on a branch can only draw water from one way.
• We have a "Fire Pump" in Pumphouse #2 at the corner of 9th Street and 4th Ave.  When and if the firefighters need water at a higher pressure and volume, the fire pump can be turned on for them.
• It is my understanding that Beiseker's hydrant system is adequate for the job.  That said, if the funds become available I would be very interested in making sure all of our hydrants are looped.

I hope that clears up some of the issues that were brought forward.  If there are any others, please let me know - you can contact me through the form on the right-hand side of my blog - or contact a member of council directly so they can bring your concerns forward.

As I've said before, I'm very pleased and proud of our volunteer fire department here in Beiseker and I will continue to do everything I can to make their job easier!

Beiseker Fire Department Photo!

You may recall that a couple weeks ago, our local newspaper had forgotten to include a photo of the Beiseker Fire Department in their tribute page during Fire Prevention Week. Other departments were featured from Acme to Chestermere.

In fact, this was the second year our team was missed! I am very proud of our volunteer fire department and was most upset when their photo was missed.

We have now corrected that error. Here is a photo of our volunteer fire department in front of our new fire truck!

I will send a copy of this photo with all the volunteers' names to the newspaper with the hopes that this error can be remedied.

Beiseker Fire Department Missed?

I was somewhat confused when I read about the area fire departments last week in the local weekly paper. 

It was Fire Prevention Week, and what better time to honour the men and women who volunteer their time and risk their lives in our local fire departments. 

I anxiously scanned through the photos of all the fire departments around Rocky View and beyond looking for our Beiseker #130 Station.  It wasn't there! 

What happened?  I need to know!  Do we need an up-to-date photo of our brave firefighters?  Did the weekly newspaper not realise we have a very active, competent and dedicated bunch of firefighters here in the village?  I really do need to know!

If one of you out there knows of that up-to-date photo of our volunteer firefighters proudly standing in front of our new firetruck (which those same volunteers played a major role in obtaining) please contact me.  If we don't have that photo yet, I would be honored to do it myself.

Call me!

A Sad Day for Firefighters

I imagine the flag at the Beiseker Volunteer Fire Department fire hall will be flying at half mast tomorrow, to honour the 19 firefighters killed while fighting a brush/forest fire in central Arizona.

Their deaths serve as a reminder to the rest of us that these folks - our family, friends, and neighbours - risk their lives to keep us safe.

Fire Department Misunderstandings

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about the strange happenings between three mythical fire departments. I have done some extensive investigation into the story, and I have come up with the conclusion that many of the decisions made by those involved were based on misinformation, misunderstandings, and rumour!

The decision to have one Fire Department responded over another was primarily based upon the understanding that the department in question (in my original post, the Village of Alpha's department) did not have qualified personnel to respond nor did they have certified equipment to respond with.  This was, in fact, incorrect.

The closest Fire Department to the incident did have qualified personnel standing by with a certified vehicle and equipment.

In my opinion, the three fire departments involved - and the county in which they are situated - must engage in some meaningful negotiation to prevent such an incident from happening again.  Everyone involved must also remember that  it is the safety and well-being of citizens that is all the primary focus, here!

A True Story?

Once upon a time on a highway, not so long ago and not so far away, there was a traffic accident. It was a not too serious accident with no really serious injuries.

The 911 center received the call and called out the fire department from the Village of Alpha*. They also called out the fire department from the Village of Bravo*.

When the Bravo fire chief heard that the fire department from the Village of Alpha had been called out, he demanded that they be stood down -- even though Alpha was the closest municipality to the accident.

So, the members of the Alpha fire department sat in their fire hall and listened to the radio, as the Bravo Fire Department responded to the call.

Then, the Alpha firefighters heard the Bravo fire chief call in the Village of Charlie* fire department for assistance, while they sat patiently in their fire hall in downtown Alpha.  Charlie was even farther away from the accident, but their fire department dutifully responded!

This story reads stranger than the strangest fiction! I don't know how much of the story is true but I'm going to find out!  Stay tuned on this one!


*The names have been changed to protect everybody! 

Follow-up, March 10th:  Fire Department Misunderstandings