The Salvation Army's newest tool in disaster response received its trial by fire April 23 in the heat of the blaze at Lakeland Mills.
Today, the Prince George charity will officially unveil its new crisis response trailer - a support unit for their disaster response team. It arrived in Prince George just two days before the mill explosion.
"What it means is now we have the capacity to not only provide service, but to haul all the product that we need and provide accommodations for our disaster team on remote locations," explained Salvation Army Capt. Neil Wilkinson.
The trailer, which sleeps 10 people and can haul 4,000 pounds of products to the field, is completely self-sufficient and able to function without city, sewer, water or electrical hookups.
The $44,000-trailer was covered by a $25,000 donation from the Nechako Rotary Club and the remainder by Happy Trails RV, which supplied and and furnished it. A truck donated by Canfor more than a decade ago hauls the trailer.
"We're grateful for the partnerships because that's expensive equipment rolling down the highway," Wilkinson said. "Together, in tandem, the units are probably worth $220,000."
Similar units are used by Salvation Army branches across the country to respond to fires, police standoffs, search and rescue efforts and earthquakes.
"What an amazing unit to have," Wilkinson said. "Everything we've heard from first responders is they were so thrilled to have the Salvation Army there to support them. It was exhausting work and emotionally exhausting work... so to be able to sit down and have a coffee and sandwich and hot meal and place to rest and a place to put their feet up is really, really great."
The Salvation Army's disaster response team is a group of trained volunteers who are on call to service an area that spans from Williams Lake to the Yukon border and from the Alberta border to Smithers.
Wilkinson said it takes minimal time after getting a call to hit the road. "We need to stock the trailer with fresh produce and fresh product and we can be deployed within the hour."
So far 12 people are already formally trained.
"They put their lives on hold and come out. We put in 174 man hours during the Lakeland fire disaster," Wilkinson explained.
This weekend - the kickoff for Emergency Preparedness Week - the Salvation Army is hosting a training program, which will see at least another 30 people trained to serve on the emergency response vehicle.
