The crew of the RCMP Patrol Vessel ‘Inkster’ was first on the scene of a wildfire burning about two miles west of Tahsis Wednesday night.
A passing boater reported seeing a blaze on shore around 3:45 pm, on August 14th, 2014. The Inkster was on routine patrol in the area, and only 15 minutes away. Equipped with a trained crew, a portable fire pump, fire axes, and buckets, the Inkster was ready to respond.
Arriving at the coordinates provided by the witness, the crew found the wild fire located along the shoreline, with small trees/shrubs, dry stumps, and ground moss burning. The man who had called in the blaze was at the site, using a bucket to attempt to extinguish the blaze.
The crew readied the on board rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) with a response team and firefighting equipment. Once onshore the crew began fighting the fire. A short time later, a crew from the Tahsis Fire Department arrived on foot. With the combined efforts of both emergency crews, the fire was quickly extinguished. Thankfully, the burn was isolated to a 100 square meter area, with no impact to the Town of Tahsis. The cause of the fire is not known.
With the Inkster in the area, her crew was able to quickly arrive at the scene of this blaze, put their training and equipment to work, and help contain this fire
, states Sgt. Mike Lariviere – Operations NCO for the RCMP West Coast Marine Service. With the combined efforts of our officers and the Tahsis Fire Department, this potentially destructive fire was quickly contained and extinguished.
– Contributed by the RCMP.
