The Roberts Creek Volunteer Fire Department (RCVFD) open house and garage sale on Nov. 20 was a great success, according to training officer Sean Hatanaka.
The event brought in approximately $1,400, which will be used to help update and renovate the clubhouse area in the hall. Most of the items sold at the garage sale were donated by the firefighters themselves.
“This is a common space that we use after practice to socialize as well as after calls to help unwind before we go home to our families,” Hatanaka said. “Sunshine Coast Regional District funding goes towards the upkeep of the structure and updating and maintenance of our equipment and not extras to help make the hall a little nicer to come to.”
A generous donation of $500 came from Dylan Broeke – with the help of the Elphinstone High school Interact program – who was rescued by the RCVFD after a mountain biking accident, which put him in a coma for two weeks.
The open house was a family event, combining fire awareness, recruitment and a fundraising component.
“The fire hose challenge and the firefighter maze were the most popular for the kids and adults,” Hatanaka said.
There are several aspects to the maze. “We just put up a very simple straight run,” firefighter David McIlwraith explained. “We usually incorporate multi levels, closed-in spaces, corners, etc., and we usually do it blindfolded to replicate low to zero visibility situations.”
The Roberts Creek Volunteer Fire Department is accepting applications for a January recruit class. For more information, see www.robertscreekfire.ca
