Firefighters hose down cars for cash
Volunteers have fun while raising money for a side-by-side off-road vehicle to help with fires and rescues
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
RANKIN INLET
Rankin Inlet's volunteer firefighters had their hands full on June 25.
Edwina Alerk throws a bucket of water on Kelly Kabvitak during an impromptu water fight at Rankin Inlet's firefighter car wash. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo |
Even though there wasn't a fire in sight, most of the members were scrambling for hoses and buckets of water as the department teamed up to hold a car wash — and the occasional impromptu water fight — in order to raise much-needed money.
Throughout the afternoon a constant stream of trucks and ATVs made their way down to the firehall where the firefighters hosed down and scrubbed the vehicles.
"This was really great," said firefighter Terry Rodgers, who was soaked from head to toe by the end of the day. "We got a lot of community support here today, a lot of people showed up."
The firefighters were charging $20 to wash a truck or a car and $10 for an ATV. Catherine Tatty, whose husband is a firefighter, said she was happy to pay $20 to get her truck washed.
"They did a good job and they seemed to have fun doing it," she said. "And the money's going to a good cause."
Simona Pissuk said the last thing on her mind when she bought a brand new ATV earlier in the week was a car wash. But after spending a few days making trips to fish out on the land, her new prized possession had gathered enough dust to merit a scrub down.
"They did good work. I'm really happy about it," she said.
Fire Chief Mark Wyatt said the car wash raised approximately $1,000. That money will be used toward purchasing a new side-by-side off-road vehicle so the fire department can attend to emergencies on the land to help with ATV rescues and tundra fires.
"When you get off-road it's impossible to take the ambulance to some of these areas," he said. "With one of these and a portable source of water we'll be able to fight fires out there."
Rodgers said the department has come a long way since Wyatt took over a fire chief took last fall. At the time there were just eight volunteer firefighters. Now there are 24.
While the money raised was important, Rodgers said being able to have water fights and share some laughs with the new recruits helped bring the department together.
"A lot of these guys have been with us for less than a year and this is something — as you can see we're all soaking wet — that's a good bonding experience."
