NANAIMO REGION
NATION & WORLD
Down 2-1 Do
Nanaimo ranks 21st of 36 cities to find jobs bs
Hundreds drown as smuggler’s boat sinks
The Canucks are behind in their playoff series again thei after a 4-2 loss in Calgary afte
A ‘BC Business’ report me, based on household income, unemployment data is not high on the Harbour City. A3
Number of people on board is still unknown after a tragedy in Mediterranean Sea on Sunday. A7
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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Monday, April 20, 2015 HOTEL
Call 911 Emergency response dispatcher Steve Brimble shares the stories of his profession and the importance of efficient, co-ordinated responses in intense situations
Hilton will not use Georgia Park land SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
Steve Brimble takes calls at the Nanaimo dispatch centre located inside the Nanaimo RCMP Detachment Friday afternoon. [AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS]
Pocket dials, humorous requests also daily events JULIE CHADWICK DAILY NEWS
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s an emergency services dispatcher for the Nanaimo Communications Centre, Steve Brimble has taken his fair share of crazy and dramatic calls. However one of the most tragic he ever fielded took place more than 20 years ago while he was working in Moncton, N.B. It was Thanksgiving weekend in 1989 and a local family hosting their yearly reunion in Cormier village was returning from a hay ride when a logging truck lost its load of logs and jack-knifed while negotiating a turn on the road. The truck and the logs crashed into the wagon and the two trucks following behind, killing 13 people and injuring 45. As the closest emergency dispatcher, it was Brimble who had to take the call and co-ordinate rescue efforts into the remote community. “Whole families died,” he said.
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Sunny High 19, Low 9 Details A2
“And there was only four us in 911 awareness week throughout the coms centre taking care of the province. the whole province, so we were “They play a very vital role and immediately overwhelmed. they often get forgotten about,” “We found out when a said Sgt. Sheryl Armconstable called us over strong of the Nanaimo the radio with his voice RCMP. shaking and said, ‘I need “We can’t do our job everything you can send without these people me.’ We later found out being competent and he had the body of a doing their job.” three-year-old girl laying Versatility and the at his feet.” ability to think on one’s With such a lack of feet are just a few of the resources available, the skills necessary to funcdispatchers had to think tion as an emergency Julie outside the box and dispatcher. Chadwick think quickly. As an example, Arm“We had to sit there strong cited the shootReporting and say, ‘where can we ing at Western Forest find a cherry picker Products on April 30 truck to take logs off that left two dead. off people?’ — and this is Thanksgiving Sunday,” said “The dispatch in that case, Brimble. “It was insane.” the person who got the 911 call, It is all just a day in the life of they’re dealing with people who an emergency dispatcher, who have been shot,” Armstrong said, provide a vital link between the “so they’re the lifeline for those public and first responders. people. Last week marked the emer“Trying to keep them calm as gency services dispatcher and they’re hearing the aftermath.
“Same thing with the person who’s dispatching, they’re concerned because they’ve got the (police) members going in. So that’s a file where it shows you just how good we need these people to be.” It was a case in which Brimble feels proud of the co-ordinated response, where police officers arrived on scene within three minutes of the first 911 call, and had the suspect apprehended within six minutes. Not all calls are that intense. Brimble said they deal with their fair share of resource-sapping pocket dials from cell phones and the occasional humourous or bizarre request. “‘My brother double-dog dared me to eat a piece of (poo) and I did it, what should I do?’” was one call, said Brimble with a chuckle. Another man called and asked if he was within his legal rights to defend himself if a crow attacked him again. See 911, Page A5
Newcastle Island plan unveiled in open house
Pirates split doubleheader with Cardinals
A three-phase development plan from the Snuneymuxw First Nation is set to increase and balance cultural values and other heritage aspects on the island. » Nanaimo Region, A6
The Nanaimo Pirates mounted a comeback to pick up a split with the B.C. Premier Baseball League leading Abbotsford Cardinals Sunday at Serauxmen Stadium. » Sports, B2
Local news .................... A3-6 Community Calendar .....A2 Nation & World ................. A7
Editorials and letters ..... A4 Sports ................................... B1 Scoreboard ........................ B4
Classified ............................ B6 Obituaries ........................... B6 Comics ................................. B5
Nanaimo city staff say the developer behind the proposed Hilton Hotel project has dropped their request for a long-term lease of Georgia Park. Instead, the project proposal has been redesigned and will proceed without a lease of the city parkland situated between the city’s seawall and the proposed building site off of Front Street. A staff report before council Monday notes “considerable” public opposition to a proposed lease of approximately 925 square metres of Georgia Park approved in principle by council last year. “As a response to this feedback, the proponent has designed the project to ensure that the hotel can be constructed solely within the boundaries of its own property,” the report says. A staff recommendation set for Monday’s council meeting would have council rescind approval in principle for a lease and instead direct city staff to amend an existing right-of-way agreement to include $1.5 million in improvements to the area, including a public walking route extending from the hotel down through the park to the waterfront walkway. Insight Holdings would be required to build and maintain the improvements, which would immediately transfer to city ownership, Nanaimo community development director Dale Lindsay said. The city would also retain full control and ownership of the park area. “At the end of the day . . . these would become city-owned park improvements,” Lindsay said. The $1.5 million in right-ofway improvements would be in addition to the $1.2 million the developer has already contributed to the city for park improvements in the area as part of the rezoning process. Council approved a zoning amendment bylaw for the project last fall. Insight Holdings representative Darwin Mahlum declined comment when reached Friday. Spencer.Anderson @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4255
Crossword .......................... B5 Sudoku ................................. A2 Horoscope .......................... B7
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