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He said the CVRD’s head office in Duncan was “woefully inadequate” to serve as an EOC in case of a wildfire or other emergency, so he could see why they wanted to take over the Bings Creek facility.

The group, founded in 1962, is responsible for an area that stretches the width of Vancouver Island and runs from the Malahat summit in the south to the Chemainus River in the north.

Griffiths said they have about 30 active members, with 20 more set to enter training. They can handle ground search-and-rescue operations, as well as technical rope rescues, swift-water rescues, as well as providing a tracking team.

Photo by Dewi Griffiths / Cowichan Search and Rescue

In 2017 they dealt with more than 20 incidents, logging over 2,200 hours of volunteer time. The team also provided more than 2,500 hours of training. They also run prevention training programs for schools and youth clubs.

They’re fitting out their new technical-rescue vehicle and will soon also have a planning and briefing trailer, taking their fleet up to 11 vehicles.

It’s this fleet where the need for a permanent base comes in. Currently the group is using two bays at Bings Creek — a two-storey bay for their command bus and a one-storey bay that has a washroom and a training/office space — and they need to find their new, heated and powered home by the middle of 2018.

Local companies have donated storage units. In all, they occupy an area measuring 40-by-45 feet.

“In order to fully secure our entire fleet and other rescue equipment in one secure building, we will be looking to find, acquire or build something a minimum of 60 feet by 65 feet, with power and heat (and hopefully washroom/kitchenette facilities),” Griffiths said. He said they would still need an office/training space, but they’ve looked at adding a construction trailer if necessary.

“We also have dreams of other capabilities such as incorporating rope-rescue training capabilities in the structure design and the capability to have drive-thru bays,” he added. “Having worked so hard to build our response capabilities over the past 10 years, it’s been a shock to have to face this new challenge.”

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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