firefighters

Firefighter Sue Idle (right) with Pass Creek Fire Department chief Aaron Bebelman. Photo: Submitted

‘It is hard. It is fun’: 55-year-old Castlegar woman becomes firefighter

Sue Idle is one of the newest members of the Pass Creek Fire Department

 

White Valley Spray Park in Lumby. (File photo)

Hazmat spill closes North Okanagan pool and spray park

Chemical reaction at Lumby spray park, emergency crews cleaning up and investigating

 

The Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Department went out of their way (and out of their jurisdiction) to douse a house fire in an unprotected area early Sunday morning. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)

North Okanagan firefighters go out of their way to douse house fire

Trailer destroyed, could have been ‘catastrophic’

 

Campers learn auto extrication at past year’s Camp Ignite. Photo supplied by Camp Ignite

‘Camp Ignite’ helps young B.C. women pursue firefighting careers

This year’s camp will be on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15 in Vancouver

Campers learn auto extrication at past year’s Camp Ignite. Photo supplied by Camp Ignite
Crews battled a grass fire behind the Tolko mill along the railway tracks off Otter Lake Cross Road in Spallumcheen Monday, April 26. (Caitlin Clow - Morning Star file)

UPDATE: Man allegedly lighting Vernon fires with blowtorch arrested

Grassfires sparked near train tracks, behind bottle depot

Crews battled a grass fire behind the Tolko mill along the railway tracks off Otter Lake Cross Road in Spallumcheen Monday, April 26. (Caitlin Clow - Morning Star file)
Grand Forks Fire/Rescue volunteers attack a hillside fire from top to bottom Tuesday, May 18. Photo: Laurie Tritschler

Brushfire erupts at rural West Kootenay home

No one was hurt in the fire, according to Grand Forks/Fire Rescue

Grand Forks Fire/Rescue volunteers attack a hillside fire from top to bottom Tuesday, May 18. Photo: Laurie Tritschler
West Kelowna firefighters practice swiftwater rescue techniques in the Shuswap River in Cherryville April 20. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)

West Kelowna firefighters make a splash in North Okanagan

Swift water rescue training brings team to Cherryville’s Shuswap River

West Kelowna firefighters practice swiftwater rescue techniques in the Shuswap River in Cherryville April 20. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)
A vehicle that was driven through the wall of a parkade at Uptown Shopping Centre and into the nearby Walmart on April 9 was removed through another hole in the wall later that night. (Photo via Saanich Police Department and Ayush Kakkar)

Vehicle launched into B.C. Walmart removed following rescue of trapped workers

Crews cut new hole in parkade wall to remove vehicle safely

A vehicle that was driven through the wall of a parkade at Uptown Shopping Centre and into the nearby Walmart on April 9 was removed through another hole in the wall later that night. (Photo via Saanich Police Department and Ayush Kakkar)
Bean, a small dog, got her head stuck in the reclining mechanism of a couch on Wednesday night. (Facebook/Kamloops Fire Rescue)

Kamloops fire crews free Bean the pup trapped in reclining chair

‘We don’t rescue cats out of trees anymore… but we do occasionally rescue dogs out of reclining couches!’

Bean, a small dog, got her head stuck in the reclining mechanism of a couch on Wednesday night. (Facebook/Kamloops Fire Rescue)
Bean, a small dog, got her head stuck in the reclining mechanism of a couch on Wednesday night. (Facebook/Kamloops Fire Rescue)

Kamloops fire crews free pup trapped in couch

‘We don’t rescue cats out of trees anymore… but we do occasionally rescue dogs out of reclining couches!’

Bean, a small dog, got her head stuck in the reclining mechanism of a couch on Wednesday night. (Facebook/Kamloops Fire Rescue)
BX-Swan Lake fire chief Bill Wacey investigates a suspicious grass fire, which was sparked next to the BC Hydro substation early Monday, March 22, 2021. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)

Potentially explosive grass fire snuffed near North Okanagan substation

Camp fire deemed suspicious, fireworks found nearby

BX-Swan Lake fire chief Bill Wacey investigates a suspicious grass fire, which was sparked next to the BC Hydro substation early Monday, March 22, 2021. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star)
Vernon Fire Rescue and RCMP respond to a dumpster fire in the 4000 block of 32nd Street Monday morning, March 22, 2021. (Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star)

UPDATE: Fireworks suspected in Vernon dumpster fire

Small blaze not threatening any structures under investigation

Vernon Fire Rescue and RCMP respond to a dumpster fire in the 4000 block of 32nd Street Monday morning, March 22, 2021. (Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star)
Ice rescue on Shannon Lake. Phil McLachlan, Kelowna Capital News.

‘Ice season is over’; West Kelowna crews rescue man from icy lake

A man in his 60’s was pulled from the waters of Shannon Lake after falling through

Ice rescue on Shannon Lake. Phil McLachlan, Kelowna Capital News.
Lake Country firefighters helped deliver a healthy newborn baby Thursday, Jan. 21, 2020. (Pixabay)

Lake Country firefighters help deliver baby boy

Firefighters from the Winfield hall assisted with the birth of a healthy newborn Thursday morning

Lake Country firefighters helped deliver a healthy newborn baby Thursday, Jan. 21, 2020. (Pixabay)
The Oliver Fire Department’s “new” truck was built with the help of various local companies. It was completed Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Oliver Fire Dept. / Facebook)

It takes a town to build a truck: The Oliver Fire Department gets creative

Ingenuity and local connections played an important role in the upgrading fire truck

The Oliver Fire Department’s “new” truck was built with the help of various local companies. It was completed Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Oliver Fire Dept. / Facebook)
The Regional District of North Okanagan is losing Vernon as a partner, but plans are to keep the burn building for other firefighters to train at. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star file photo)

North Okanagan city snuffs support of fire training centre

Other regional firefighters assured access to burn building

The Regional District of North Okanagan is losing Vernon as a partner, but plans are to keep the burn building for other firefighters to train at. (Jennifer Smith - Morning Star file photo)
Karl Featherstone's wife and young children are grieving the sudden death of the Lake Country firefigher. (Contributed)

Fallen Okanagan firefighter honoured, family support sought

Procession Sunday, Nov. 8 for Karl Featherstone, GoFundMe set up to help family

Karl Featherstone's wife and young children are grieving the sudden death of the Lake Country firefigher. (Contributed)
The Lake Country Fire Department is mourning the loss of Karl Featherstone who died suddenly at 47 years old on Oct. 11. (Photo Submitted)

Lake Country Fire Department mourns sudden death of firefighter

47-year-old Karl Featherstone died on Oct. 11.

The Lake Country Fire Department is mourning the loss of Karl Featherstone who died suddenly at 47 years old on Oct. 11. (Photo Submitted)
Vernon Fire Rescue Services members along with Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP officers transport an injured child to a waiting ambulance near Polson Park Sunday, Oct. 4. The dispatch call was for that of a pre-teen falling 20 feet and suffering a head injury. There is no word on the condition of the child. (Roger Knox - Morning Star)

Okanagan child suffers injury in fall

Incident happened in Vernon near Highway 6 railway bridge and Polson Park Sunday, Oct. 4

Vernon Fire Rescue Services members along with Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP officers transport an injured child to a waiting ambulance near Polson Park Sunday, Oct. 4. The dispatch call was for that of a pre-teen falling 20 feet and suffering a head injury. There is no word on the condition of the child. (Roger Knox - Morning Star)
This photo provided by the Unified Fire Authority shows a Utah fire crew member on the scene working to protect the town of Butte Falls in southern Oregon on Sunday, Sept. 13. 2020. This year’s fires have taxed the human, mechanical and financial resources of the nation’s wildfire fighting forces to a degree that few past blazes did. And half of the fire season is yet to come. Heat, drought, and a strategic decision to attack the flames early combined with other factors to put a historically heavy burden on fire teams. (Matthew McFarland/Unified Fire Authority via AP)

B.C., Alberta sending nearly 300 fire personnel by Friday to help battle wildfires in Oregon

Some 230 firefighters, most from British Columbia but including a number from Alberta, will be deployed Friday

This photo provided by the Unified Fire Authority shows a Utah fire crew member on the scene working to protect the town of Butte Falls in southern Oregon on Sunday, Sept. 13. 2020. This year’s fires have taxed the human, mechanical and financial resources of the nation’s wildfire fighting forces to a degree that few past blazes did. And half of the fire season is yet to come. Heat, drought, and a strategic decision to attack the flames early combined with other factors to put a historically heavy burden on fire teams. (Matthew McFarland/Unified Fire Authority via AP)