It took more than three hours to load the Oak Bay Search and Rescue boat and then lay it out in an orderly fashion on a beach.
But it was worth it said coxswain Kim Bentzon, who had fun during the crew’s recent visit to South Discovery Island.
The #TetrisChallenge is sweeping the globe. Emergency services are displaying the equipment they need to do their jobs.
— RCMSAR Oak Bay (@rcmsar33) November 4, 2019
Here’s what’s inside an RCMSAR rescue boat. https://t.co/LSn93FKLBG@RCM_SAR @OakBayFireDept @OakBayPolice @OakBayNews @MurdochOakBay @hazeloakbay #SAR pic.twitter.com/hLlME9zVsB
What started trending with emergency service crews in Europe, the #tetrischallenge has now gone worldwide, with crews displaying the equipment they need to do their jobs.
The phenomenon is based on knolling, said Bentzon, a trend that social media made popular with overhead shots of someone’s belongings in neat order with plenty of right angles. For example, it is common for organized travellers to ensure they have everything needed before they packed their suitcase.
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“We thought it looked like fun and some of our team were excited to do it and to extend the challenge to Oak Bay Fire and Oak Bay Police,” Bentzon said. “So we’ll see if they do it. We also challenge our sister stations in Sooke and Sidney.”
A search of the hashtag shows posts are coming in from outfits such as the Coquitlam RCMP reserve constables, showing what they carry on them during a shift, and as big and far away as a Victoria Police squad car (the other Victoria in Australia). Some military outfits have also joined the act.
The exercise was a chance for Oak Bay Search and Rescue to use their new drone, which one of its volunteers recently acquired a license for.
“It took about 45 minutes to pull all the gear out, then we laid it all out, and it was over three hours before we were back,” Bentzon said. “Then we had to clean it because sand got on everything.”
Oak Bay Search and Rescue is part of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue and about 40 volunteer members are based out of the Oak Bay station, one of about 40 stations on the coast of B.C.