Coquitlam Search and Rescue calls on community for help storing its new rescue boat
The Coquitlam Search and Rescue team is calling on its community for help finding a spot to store its new rescue boat.
Robert Sell, a team leader who’s volunteered with the organization for more than a decade, says that finding a spot in the Tri-Cities to store the boat will improve the speed at which they can respond to calls.
“We have this wonderful new boat which can rescue people so much faster, but we really can't leave it outside,” he said.
The boats are an essential tool that help the team respond to an increasing number of rescue calls.
“So far this year, we've seen as many marine type rescues as we saw in the entire year last year, so it’s dramatically going up,” he said.
Sell said that a warehouse or garage with a lock, away from wildlife and inclement weather, would be an ideal storage spot.
“One of our primary factors for rescuing people is speed,” he said. “If we have to stop to kick a family of raccoons out of the back of the boat before we launch, that's not going to be good.”
The organization responds to calls on the Pitt River, Indian Arm, Buntzen Lake, Sasamat Lake, and the Fraser River – areas that people are increasingly attracted to for outdoor recreation, Sell said.
“We really need to be able to get in there and … be that safety net for them.”
The boats are used either to retrieve stranded boaters or swimmers, or as a base from which to transmit radio communications further afield.
“We go wherever we need to go, and that doesn't necessarily have cell phone coverage. So it's really important for us to be able to transmit communications and this does that very well,” Sell said.
Anyone who thinks they might have enough room to store the boat and its towing vehicle can visit Coquitlam Search and Rescue’s website and fill out their application form.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.