Firefighter hit by fleeing vehicle

Photo: Google Street View

BX-Swan Lake fire department attended a pallet fire at a bush party at the top of this dirt road in the BX Hartnell area on Wednesday night

11:00 a.m. update: 

Last evening at about 10 p.m.  the Vernon RCMP were called to assist the BX Fire Department for a report that one of their officers was hit by a vehicle as they attended a fire scene off Hartnell Rd.

The police investigation learned that one of the volunteer firemen was out on foot walking towards the small brush fire when he was hit by a pick-up truck that was trying to leave the area.

The 26-year-old driver of a Ford F-350 was prevented from leaving the area by another fireman. BX Fire Dept members stood by him until the police arrived. The Fire department members then pointed him out to our officers so they could investigate the case.

The suspect was spoken to by police; he failed the roadside ASD test so he was returned to the police office as part of an Impaired Driving investigation.

The suspect has since been released on a Promise to Appear with a court date of Aug. 29, he is expected to face charges in relation to impaired driving. His vehicle has also impounded.

The Firefighter was taken to Vernon hospital where he was examined and released with bruises from the incident.

5 a.m.: What started as a routine wildfire call for the BX-Swan Lake volunteer fire department on Wednesday night ended with one of their members in hospital. 

Fire Chief Bill Wacey says he received a report at 9:55 p.m. of flames in the trees above Hartnell Road. Volunteer firefighters who live in the area were able to visually confirm the fire from a distance.

Initially the presumed cause was a lightning strike, says Wacey, as the flames were quite high and there appeared to be candling in the tree tops.

Once firefighters arrived on the scene, however, it became clear that there was a bush party going on in the wooded area above an abandoned subdivision several hundred feet south of Hartnell Road. Wacey says by then, the RCMP were already en route.

"It was a large fire, that's why we thought it was lightning. They must have had 20 or 30 pallets burning up there," said Wacey.

As firefighters arrived, several vehicles were observed fleeing the scene at high speeds down a narrow dirt road. It is believed that one of the fleeing vehicles, a truck, may have struck a member who was walking on foot up the dirt road at that time. This is yet to be confirmed by police. 

Wacey confirmed that his Assistant Fire Chief was transported to Vernon Jubilee Hospital with what are believed to be non life-threatening injuries.

Six members of the BX-Swan Lake department hiked into the area and actioned the fire successfully. Wacey estimates it took around 10 minutes to pull it all apart and extinguish the blaze.

"Thankfully we've had a lot of rain so the fire didn't get into the trees at all," said Wacey.

There are reports that two young men were taken into custody by the RCMP in relation to the motor vehicle incident, however, this too has not yet been confirmed.