Beaconsfield rescue team branches out

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

When a storm tore through Beaconsfield in June 2005 it knocked the power out of Jean Lapierre’s home and flooded his basement with three feet of water.

In all, the deluge caused close to $100,000 in damage.

Fast forward to last month’s ice storm and the Wakefield Road resident was in a situation that was much too familiar. It was 10:30 p.m., the power was out and his basement had taken in a few inches of water.

In both jams, Lapierre contacted the Beaconsfield Volunteer Rescue Squad and it was the group’s members who bailed him out.

“They were just like angels coming in,” he said. “It’s really scary when you see the water coming in . . . and there’s nothing you can do.”

Now, Ste. Anne de Bellevue and Senneville are on the verge of signing on to share the unit’s services.

Last fall, Ste. Anne Mayor Bill Tierney was sold on the idea when the team showed up at a flooded apartment building in the village after a heavy rain.

“They were really amazing, they helped out for hours,” he said. “We realized this is a very useful thing.

“For us, it was a bit of a no-brainer.”

Tierney said residents have already shown interest in joining a local branch of the squad, which will operate out of the town’s old fire station.

The city will outfit local volunteers and Beaconsfield members will lead the training, he said.

Formed in 2000, the all-volunteer squad provides support for the local fire department and public works, according to assistant director Edwin Rouppe van der Voort.

“When they’re overloaded we get called in to help out,” he said.

Members are prepared for search and rescue, medical emergencies, and some are trained to respond to car accidents with the Jaws of Life.

Unit members, who are led by director Bruce MacDonald, are regulars at city-organized events such as Canada Day and St. Jean Baptiste Day celebrations.

During last month’s ice storm, volunteers spent 500 hours clearing fallen trees and emptying inundated basements.

“That was a full weekend,” Rouppe van der Voort said. “During those three days, all 26 members participated at one time or another.”

Lapierre, a Beaconsfield resident of only six months when the first flood hit, didn’t know where to go for help.

He headed to the municipality’s public works building, but being a Saturday, the department was closed. At 11 a.m., he dialled an emergency phone number posted on the door. It read: “Beaconsfield Volunteer Rescue Squad.”

By 3 p.m., after answering several calls that morning, a crew arrived and pumped water from his basement.

“They stayed until the job was done,” said Lapierre, who was astonished the service was free.

Because of renovations in his new home, Lapierre had been storing 75 per cent of his belongings in the basement, including computers, artwork and books. The damage was substantial, he said.

Last month, when the water returned, he called the squad and they arrived in 15 minutes.

The team set up a generator and left it for the night.

“Honestly, if they hadn’t provided me with this machine (generator), I would have been flooded again,” he said, adding that a plumber who worked on his home following the first deluge underestimated the situation.

“This is a fantastic service,” said Lapierre, who described the volunteers as “polite” and “knowledgeable.”

Beaconsfield urban planning director Denis Chabot said other West Island municipalities are mulling the benefits of joining — except for Pointe Claire, which has had a volunteer rescue unit since 1951, and Baie d’Urfé, which recently unveiled its own.

“For now (other cities) want to look at us go and see how it’s going to turn out,” said Chabot, who expects a deal to be settled by the end of January. “The agreement hasn’t been signed yet . . . but we’re already working together as a group.”

The expanded squad, which could eventually carry the moniker: “Lakeshore Volunteer Rescue Squad,” is looking for volunteers from across the West Island,

he said.

For more information, call 514-428-4400.