New Westminster firefighters were pretty blown away by their 2020 tree-chipping event.
Every year, the New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Association holds a tree-chipping event on the first weekend of January, giving community members the chance to recycle their Christmas trees, to meet with local firefighters and enjoy a barbecue, popcorn and musical entertainment and to support local charities.
“It was probably one of the most entertaining, challenging tree chippings I have ever been involved with,” said firefighter Glen Bailey, president of the charitable society. “It was something else.”
Mother Nature cooperated and provided decent weather for Saturday’s tree-chipping event, but Sunday was a different story. The Jan. 3 and 4 event was held at the Canada Games Pool parking lot.
“We had the torrential rainfall, so we were all soaked, drenched. We might as well have held the event in the swimming pool. Then it got sort of warm and dry and sunny. Then there was the windstorm,” Bailey said. “We had pretty much every person, including parents and people who dropped off trees, holding down our tents. People were showing up and there were no firefighters to grab trees because we were all holding the tents down.”
New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian took part in a tree-burning/fire extinguishing exercise at Saturday’s event, but no demonstration was held on Sunday because of the weather – and because most firefighters were holding down tents.
Firefighters collected a bin full of trees at this year’s event, which raises funds that the charitable society disperses to various charities in the community.
“We are still counting the donations. The donations seemed to be very generous,” Bailey said. “The people who hung around, it sounded like they had fun.”
Along with raising money for charity and celebrating the end of the holiday season, New Westminster firefighters enjoy hosting the event as it gives them a chance to connect with community members. People are always welcome to attend the tree-chipping event, whether or not they have a tree.
“We are firefighters. We are members of the community,” Bailey said. “We really do like talking to people and hearing what they have to say.”
The charitable society’s next big fundraiser is its annual shred-athon, which will take place in the spring. Last year, three full trucks of shredding were hauled away.
“People often just want to come by and drop their stuff off, but we are still there to talk,” Bailey said. “If people are worried about their personal stuff, we throw in in a bin right away and it can get shredded right in front of their eyes.”
The tree chipping and shred-athon events are held at the Canada Games Pool and Centennial Community Centre parking lot, next to the Glenbrook fire hall. With construction of a new aquatic and community centre set to begin this year, the site may be off-limits for the events – so stay tuned for more details in the months ahead.
