Tag Archives: Mac Diver

Cortes Island Fire Firefighters Dinner

More than 100 people turned up at Mansons Hall on Friday, December 15, for Cortes Island’s first firefighters dinner. 

“It was wonderful to be able to thank the firefighters and their families and their close friends for all the time and effort that they put in. I think we have an amazing crew and it’s really something as chief, and the board, we need to be mindful of and make sure it’s an amazing place for them to participate. A lot of small fire departments are really struggling with staff these days. We have a really strong crew,” explained Fire Chief Eli McKenty.

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How the Cortes Fire Department responded to the fire

(Editor’s note: The article about the Nov 23, 2022 fire that follows is an edited transcript of an audio file. Also, a GoFundMe page has been started to support Sandy Emmonds, who lost her home and all her belongings in the fire: https://gofund.me/86053866)

By Mark Vonesch

Mark Vonesch: I’m here with Eli McKenney, the Interim Fire Chief from Cortes Island. Eli, wow, what a night last night …

Eli McKenty: Yeah. It was a short night as far as sleep goes, and a long night in every other way.

Mark: Can you tell us what happened? Tell us the details.

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Boat catches fire close to Refuge Cove

At 9:08 AM on the morning of February 9th, 2022, a Squirrel Cove resident phoned the Coast Guard about a fire just north of Refuge Cove, on West Redonda Island. What she thought might be a house engulfed by fire turned out to be a 34 foot wood and fiberglass boat close to the shore.

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Tiber Bay: Outside the Protected Zone

Twenty years ago, Bill Friedel was embroiled in a night-long-battle to save a neighbouring Cortes Island property from fire. As they were in Tiber Bay, outside the protected area, the Cortes Island Fire Department did not intervene. One night last Spring, a downed power line “remained live for over 20 minutes and started several intense, small fires …” Luckily, these blazes were spotted before they spread. Tiber Bay is still outside the protected zone today and many residents are asking to be included in the Fire District. 

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