Seven Squamish firefighters with a combined total of 193 years of service to the District are being honoured on Saturday (Nov. 4) at the annual firefighters' fall dinner.
Long service bars or medals will be given to each man for his "courage, compassion, hard work and dedication to the community" over the last two or three decades at a special ceremony at the Sea to Sky hotel. Those honoured are: Glen Rudkin (36 years), Uffe Hansen (36 years), Sal Luengo (26 years), Robin Garrett (25 years), Gary Trento (25 years), Sean Sweeney (25) and Ken McCulloch (20 years).
Uffe Hansen started volunteer firefighting in Fernie, 10 years before moving to Squamish in 1979. He has been a volunteer fireman since he moved here for the community. Now 59, is captain of one of the crews at the Number 2 Hall.
Hansen shared a glimpse into his two most vivid memories: "the Squamish Terminal fire, which was a good size fire, and a ship that was burned down at Britannia Beach where I was the last off the ship. I can't remember the name of the ship, but, it was an old cruise ship, pocket type cruiseship, but that I remember vividly.
"After our second attempt to get to the fire I said to others: abandon ship! Time to get out of here. The ship eventually sank off the Aleutian Islands while it was towed away for scrap in Asia. Everybody was down there at that fire, I was the captain on the attack and basically, I said abandon ship and off we went. We got out and that was all we could do. It was like trying to put out a fire inside a closed lid barbecue. It was awfully hot."
Hansen will remember the Squamish Terminal fire for the rest of his life. "The dock caught fire from the underside. He explained. We had to go on little tug boats. The community all chipped in and eventually we got it out. We were there all night long and a part of the next day before we got it all out. We have had lots of other fires to put out, but, those two are very vivid in my memory."
Sal Luengo, with 26 years' service, said the fire service "was less formal" when he started in 1980.
"You learned the ropes as you went along, with colleagues taking you under their wings. I went through my formal training two-three years on the job."
Luengo's strongest memory was of the first time he entered a burning building.
"You're on your hands and knees and that is a scary experience, with the fire right above your head - and the heat when you raise yourself a few inches to turn on the hose."
Squamish Fire Rescue Chief Ray Saurette said it is "very unusual" to have so many firefighters with so many years' experience honoured on the same occasion.
"We're tickled pink that we have that level of service," he said. "And it is great to recognize them in front of Council and their peers."
Saurette added that seven recent retirees, including Rudkin and Garret, who left the service in the last year, will also be honoured on Saturday evening.
