2560 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Haha! Last night I called a cab, and for the first time ever an automated message asked me to state my location. I did so, then the message thanked me for my call and hung up.

 

15 minutes later, no cab. I call the number again, this time a human answers. I say I'm waiting at X, and they said oh, hold on, well what's he doing at Y? 10 minutes later I get a call from an angry taxi driver asking me where I'm at, why I'm not on the sidewalk. He ended up somewhere else completely the second time. By that point I had already called another taxi company and they arrived a couple of mins later.

 

Figure it out, guys. It's 2022.

[Redd42]

"I called a cab"

 

Who does that? It is 2022 -  use the apps. I have both Yellow Cab and Victoria Taxi on my phone. Has always worked for me. It tells you when a cab is on the way, you can track where the cab is coming from, how far away they are and the app will send you a message when they are about to arrive.

Edited by Redd42, 28 June 2022 - 12:15 PM.

[Mike K.]

I’ll try to remember that the next time I enter the Twilight Zone and need their services.

[pontcanna]

-The story as broadcast made things seem a little dodgy...ongoing police interest, a resident talking about someone up on the roof with a flashlight...

 

Apartment fire in Victoria sends one to hospital, police investigating

 

Aug. 1, 2022

At around 1 a.m. Sunday, firefighters with the Victoria Fire Department responded to a structure fire at an apartment building at 1615 Belmont Ave, just off Begbie Street near Stadacona Park.

 

According to a spokesperson with the Victoria Fire Department, the blaze was largely put out by the owners of the complex before crews arrived.

 

One person was sent to hospital with non-life threatening injuries as a result of the blaze, according to a spokesperson with the Victoria Police Department. 
 

More: https://www.cheknews...ating-1070043/

[Victoria Watcher]

5-minute 911 wait times now the ‘new normal’ call takers union says

 

The union representing call takers at E-Comm says the organization needs a new funding model

 

 

“By April this year, we had lost another 20 per cent of that team, and an unprecedented 28 per cent of staff are on leave. Those of us who remain are working more overtime—and, more frequently, forced overtime—to meet minimum staffing levels.”

 

https://www.todayinb...ers-union-says/

 

 

 

 

It needs a more capable and reliable staff.  Not more people, only to pay a third of them to be off and at home.  Absenteeism in any workplace should only be at the most 3%.  Not 30%.

 

I've said before, it's not a pleasant or likely enjoyable job.  But it pays well for what you do, answer the phone.   But clearly many people they hired are simply not cut out for the job.  That's OK, many might not be.  But those that cannot handle it should move on.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2022 - 05:13 PM.

[pontcanna]

Strangers rescue tenant from Saanich house fire

Resident heard the men yelling and got to safety without injury

 

August 6, 2022

 

Abby Jose was roused partly awake Friday morning by a puzzling sound — something he thought might be attributed to wind or even snow outside his Doncaster Drive rental house.

At the same time, Nick Lacoursiere was driving to work to repair a chimney on Megaw Place — the street behind Doncaster — when he spotted smoke and drove directly to the scene.

He telephoned fellow CBS Masonry workmate Scott Clarke, already at Megaw Place, to alert him. “I just jumped in my truck and burned over there,” said Clarke, who grabbed a neighbour’s hose to try and fight the fire.

It was about 8 a.m. when Lacoursiere and another man who had been walking by found the front door of the burning house unlocked and went inside to call out fire warnings.

“We just went to every single door to try to open up every door. There was one door locked and we were banging on that one,” Lacoursiere said.

The Saanich Fire Department was quickly at the scene to douse the fire, which had moved into the attic. Saanich emergency support services arrived to line up accommodation for tenants for a few days if needed as well as food and other supplies.

Saanich Assistant Deputy Chief Michael Kaye said an investigator is looking into the fire. The cause is not known at this time but it does not appear suspicious.

The fire appeared to have started on the balcony, moved up the siding and into the soffits on the roof, he said.

More: https://www.timescol...se-fire-5666474

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Strangers rescue tenant from Saanich house fire

 

 

Abby Jose was roused partly awake Friday morning by a puzzling sound — something he thought might be attributed to wind or even snow outside his Doncaster Drive rental house.

 

At the same time, Nick Lacoursiere was driving to work to repair a chimney on Megaw Place — the street behind Doncaster — when he spotted smoke and drove directly to the scene.

 

He telephoned fellow CBS Masonry workmate Scott Clarke, already at Megaw Place, to alert him. “I just jumped in my truck and burned over there,” said Clarke, who grabbed a neighbour’s hose to try and fight the fire.

 

It was about 8 a.m. when Lacoursiere and another man who had been walking by found the front door of the burning house unlocked and went inside to call out fire warnings.

Jose, 25, heard them yelling and met them in the hallway, getting to safety with no injuries.

 

“We just went to every single door to try to open up every door. There was one door locked and we were banging on that one,” Lacoursiere said.

 

It turned out that Jose was the only one of the rental home’s five tenants in the house at the time. His bedroom is on the second floor of the building with a balcony in front. The fire was burning the exterior of the house at the balcony.

 

____________________

 

It turned out that Jose was the only one of the rental home’s five tenants in the house at the time. His bedroom is on the second floor of the building with a balcony in front. The fire was burning the exterior of the house at the balcony.

 

_____________________________

 

As far as the men who went into the house to warn people, Kaye said it is not ­recommended to go into a fire without ­protective clothing, but at this point the fire was all outside so they managed to stay safe.

 

https://www.timescol...se-fire-5666474

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 August 2022 - 05:25 AM.

[Mike K.]

I had to call 911 recently after a trailer in front of me flipped over on a highway. I had to wait several minutes to be connected to RCMP.

That’s actually quite concerning, if you have a life or death situation. Minutes feel very long.

[Victoria Watcher]

What was 911 going to do immediately?

Didn’t you jump in with first aid skills?

[Mike K.]

Not a life or death situation, at the time.

[pontcanna]

Man's body discovered after Nanaimo house fire

Aug 11, 2022, 10:44PM PDT.

Nanaimo RCMP is investigating after the body of a man was found after a house fire in the Vancouver Island city.

A home was destroyed in a fire on Athletic Street Thursday around 5 p.m.

“The discovery of the body is deemed suspicious and has been turned over to the Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Section for investigation,” mounties said in a release.

 

More: https://vancouver.ci...use-fire-death/

 

[Matt R.]

Reports of a car on fire and multiple explosions just around the corner from the shop in Fulford.

Hope no one is hurt. More explosions and more sirens now.

Edited by Matt R., 29 August 2022 - 07:39 PM.

[pontcanna]

House fire in 500 block Sumas St (Burnside/Gorge) called in about 0400 hrs. Photos taken about 0545 hrs. Street still closed. Don't know if anyone was home at the time. Rumour that it is considered a "problem address" FWIW.

 

[Matt R.]

Reports of a car on fire and multiple explosions just around the corner from the shop in Fulford.

Hope no one is hurt. More explosions and more sirens now.

No reports of injury, but pretty dramatic.

[LJ]

Won't be homesteading in that for a while.

[Matt R.]

Nice old van, too.

[Victoria Watcher]

Three residents escaped a blaze that turned a house near East Sooke Regional Park into “a ball of fire,” said East Sooke Volunteer Fire Department Chief Carl Neilson.

 

“When we first arrived on scene, we had half the house completely involved with just huge, huge flames,” Neilson said.

 

 

The Jupiter Place house on an acreage backing onto East Sooke Regional Park was destroyed by the fire, reported about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. It was largely knocked down within an hour but crews had to continue working on it until about 2 a.m. Friday, Neilson said.

 

 

https://www.timescol...ke-home-5991701

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 October 2022 - 10:35 PM.

[pontcanna]

House near Brentwood Bay ferry still ‘standing’ despite extensive damage: fire chief

Kenn Mount said almost 25 crews responded to fire in 7200 block of Norman Lane near ferry terminal

Dec. 28, 2022

 

 

Close to 25 firefighters from across the Saanich Peninsula and almost of all of Central Saanich’s heavy vehicles responded to a substantial fire in the Brentwood Bay neighbourhood Wednesday that caused extensive damage to an older house that nonetheless might have fared better than its modern contemporaries.

Central Saanich Fire Department Kenn Mount said crews started responding to the 7200-block of Norman Lane near the Brentwood Bay Ferry Terminal at around 5:55 a.m. after receiving a single 911 call. A neighbour observed smoke coming out of a nearby, unoccupied house, whose owners are currently planning their return from the Lower Mainland.

It took crews about 90 minutes to knock down the fire and another 90 minutes to mop up, said Mount, adding that the fire generated a lot of heat.

“It looks like it started in the wall between the kitchen and the bedroom,” he said. “That is as far as I can get right now. Whether it is related to some sort of older heating equipment or not, I don’t know yet.”

The age of the house — which Mount dates back to the 1940s — assisted firefighters.

“(We) were able to contain to a couple of rooms. Otherwise, from the street level the house looks in good shape … this is an older house still standing strong. I love these old homes. They hold up and fight back.”

“We were lucky this didn’t happen last week with all the snow,” said Mount.
 

More: https://www.saanichn...age-fire-chief/

 

[pontcanna]

Burst pipe at Victoria General Hospital burns two, damages building

Multiple agencies are investigating

GOLDSTREAM NEWS - Dec. 30, 2022 

Several agencies are investigating after workers were injured when a steam pipe burst at Victoria General Hospital Friday morning.

“View Royal received a call at 8:34 this morning for alarms ringing at the hospital,” said View Royal Fire Chief Paul Hurst. “Crews investigated and found a large diameter steam pipe had burst while there was a worker working on the pipe.”

Two workers were sent to Royal Jubilee’s burn unit by ambulance after sustaining serious burns.

Hurst said the building has significant damage due to flooding and has been turned over to Island Health for clean-up.

Twenty-six firefighters responded to the scene from View Royal, Colwood, Langford and Esquimalt fire departments.

 

Link: https://www.saanichn...mages-building/

[Ismo07]

Burst pipe at Victoria General Hospital burns two, damages building

Multiple agencies are investigating

GOLDSTREAM NEWS - Dec. 30, 2022 

Several agencies are investigating after workers were injured when a steam pipe burst at Victoria General Hospital Friday morning.

“View Royal received a call at 8:34 this morning for alarms ringing at the hospital,” said View Royal Fire Chief Paul Hurst. “Crews investigated and found a large diameter steam pipe had burst while there was a worker working on the pipe.”

Two workers were sent to Royal Jubilee’s burn unit by ambulance after sustaining serious burns.

Hurst said the building has significant damage due to flooding and has been turned over to Island Health for clean-up.

Twenty-six firefighters responded to the scene from View Royal, Colwood, Langford and Esquimalt fire departments.

 

Link: https://www.saanichn...mages-building/

 

 

Yikes.. Vic General doesn't have a burn unit?