Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue crews tested their tender shuttle service — the trucks that bring water to the scene of a fire — on Saturday, Feb. 22, under the watchful eyes of evaluators from the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS).
And at the Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District’s meeting Monday, Feb. 24, Fire Chief Jamie Holmes delivered some good news.
“Sneak preview, everybody,” chuckled Holmes, who had told trustees full results would be in next month’s report. “We were successful in our tender shuttle accreditation, so that will suffice for FUS for another decade.”
The test requires a fire department to deliver a high flow rate of water within minutes of arriving at a fire site with the “first major piece of apparatus,” according to FUS documentation — in other words, the clock starts when the wheels stop rolling.
The “superior” level of tanker shuttle service Salt Spring’s department earned is recognized by insurers as the equivalent of having hydrant protection — and FUS accreditation, which must be renewed every 10 years, can make homeowner insurance less expensive for properties where fire hydrants might be further away.
“Just a reminder to the public again, please make sure you talk to your insurance provider and look at the map,” said Holmes, noting the coverage area is documented online at saltspringfire.com.
“If you are in that area, please make sure you’re getting that break on your personal insurance.”
Perfecting the choreographed maneuvers of trucks, tanks, hoses and firefighters is a challenging undertaking, Holmes said, and he credited crews for a ton of hard work getting there — including several firefighters relatively new to the service.
“We tried to make sure we trained the future generations,” said Holmes, “because [Deputy Chief Dale] Lundy and I are not going to be here in a decade.”