qathet Regional District's board will consider referring a wharf protection project proposal for Savary Island to staff to prepare a report for a future meeting.
At the September 6 qRD finance committee meeting, directors heard from a Savary delegation concerned about the prospect of fire at the island’s wharf.
Doug Smith, a representative from the Savary Island Marine Advisory Committee, said he had been a member of the committee for eight years and a member of the Savary Island Volunteer Fire Department for 18 years.
“The idea of fire protection for Savary Wharf goes back many years and was reconsidered after this year’s May long weekend, when hundreds of young people appeared on the island and a great number of them gathered at the wharf day and night all weekend,” said Smith. “One evening, a group of them decided to have a fire directly underneath the wharf approach with its wood timbers and deck, during a strong northwest wind. They abandoned it. The fire was spotted and nearby residents extinguished it with buckets of sea water.”
Smith said the fire department arrived shortly after to assess and report to 911 dispatch. He said the event was also reported to RCMP.
“This close call prompted the fire department and dock committee members to bring back the idea of wharf fire protection,” said Smith. “We immediately resumed discussions and held an onsite meeting mid-summer.”
Smith said that turned into a written proposal that had been sent to the regional district.
“Our current method for fighting a wharf fire is with fire trucks, but there isn’t near enough onboard water to sustain a firefighting response,” said Smith. “Sea water, although it is right there, is difficult to access safely, it’s time consuming to set up pumps and suction lines, and impossible if the wharf is already on fire.
“Our proposed system would have a single hydrant near the wharf and 10,000 gallons of gravity-fed water from two water tanks up the hill. It would be a massive improvement for firefighters protecting the wharf and nearby homes that would affected by a wharf fire.”
Smith said evacuation from the island must also be considered. The wharf is only one of three emergency evacuation sites on Savary Island.
“It’s critical that this old, wooden structure be better protected,” said Smith. “We are asking for your help because our budgets are stretched.
“We have given you a wharf protection proposal with the intention of speaking with you before qathet’s 2024 budget. The project design is ready and the budget is ballparked. We hope to get this project completed before summer 2024 when the risk of fire is greatest.”
Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox, in whose electoral area Savary Island is located, asked if the delegates were confident that the proposed infrastructure could supply the water necessary for this project. Smith said that was the case.
Safe suppression
City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott asked about salt water being used for fire suppression.
Elliott said she knows firefighters don’t want salt where salt does not belong, but the wharf is over top of the ocean, so would it be easier to use salt water when firefighters are looking at fire suppression on the wharf?
Smith said salt water can be used but it is difficult and time-consuming.
“There’s been a number of practices that I’ve attended where we have attempted to pump seawater, dropping big suction lines into the ocean, but it’s all tide dependent,” said Smith. “If you have a low tide, you’re in trouble, and even with a high tide it is difficult to get the water going with the pump sometimes.
“The complexity is great. If there is a fire going on at the wharf you can’t even get access to the water.”
Smith said with the gravity feed to the proposed fire hydrant location, firefighters just hook up the hose and they have water.
Fire chief Chris Philpott said the location of the hydrant is perfect. He said as well as the wharf, there is some high-priced real estate in that area and having 10,000 gallons of water at that location is a tremendous bonus.
Lennox made a motion that the committee recommend the regional board refer the Savary wharf protection 2024 project proposal to staff for a report to be presented to a future finance committee meeting. The committee carried it unanimously.
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