A crew of Saanich firefighters returning from Williams Lake were greeted to a warm welcome on Tuesday during their 3 p.m. ferry ride.
The Saanich Fire Department crew of Capt. Ron Hyde, Brent Brice, Noah Elan and Ryan Loyer was on its way back from a week-long deployment fighting the wildfires in the interior.
When they got back to their red passenger van, marked with a Saanich Fire logo, they found the driver’s window decorated with thank you cards from fellow ferry passengers.
“The cards were from some wonderful young kids who did some colouring on the ferry, made the thank you notes and put them on the van,” said Deputy Chief Dan Wood. “They were certainly taken aback, they loved it.”
The cards are now posted on the bulletin board at Station 1 on Vernon Ave.
“It’s nice to get a pat on the back after a seven day rotation where they put in long hours and long days,” Wood said.
The crew was the second from Saanich Fire to be deployed as the wildfires have put the province into a state of emergency.
The current rotation of Saanich firefighters are at a Cache Creek base camp. They’re providing structure fire protection near Loon Lake as well as putting out spot fires near the residences that are still standing.
“They’re watching the weather and also watching the growing fire out of Clinton,” Wood said. “The crew might be re-deployed to West Fraser Mills to protect the mill.”
A fourth rotation of Saanich firefighters will leave for the interior on Monday.
