Off-the-grid Indian Arm residents can rest easy knowing there are big guns on standby ready to fight any potential fires in the remote area.
District of North Vancouver fire crews called over two fireboats from their counterparts in Port Moody and Vancouver during a joint training exercise along the Indian Arm waterfront Aug. 16.
The fireboats docked at Sasamat Lane in the Woodlands area near the start of where there are houses and cabins without access to the municipal water system scattered all the way up the Arm.
The fireboats, with the capacity to pump out 900 gallons of water a minute, acted as a conduit by sucking the water from the ocean and sending it 100 feet up the slope through hoses to DNV fire crews.
Half a dozen structure fires along Indian Arm in the past decade have required calling in a fireboat, said DNV assistant fire chief Mike Cairns, who explained their importance in preventing an interface fire.
The fireboats, which have the same response time as the land-based fire crews, are mainly manned by Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and housed in two locations: across the Burrard Inlet at Reed Point near Port Moody and in Coal Harbour.
Under a consortium arrangement, fire departments in municipalities around Burrard Inlet have access to the fireboats when they are needed.
