Photo opportunity: Port Moody FMFR mud rescue exercise with Canadian Coast Guard air-cushion vehicle

Port Moody Fire-Rescue (PMFR) will conduct a mud rescue exercise in co-ordination with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) on Thursday, June 14, 2018 on the mudflats in the Port Moody Arm of Burrard Inlet. This exercise is part of annual mud rescue training for PMFR staff due to the danger posed by the mudflats, which can act like quicksand in some areas. 

PMFR will work with the CCG to practice mud rescue skills and learn about co-ordination with the Canadian Coast Guard in the event of a more complicated rescue operation (for example, a rescue that may be too far from solid land for PMFR to reach, or a rescue that may require extrication and transportation of an injured person). During the exercise, staff will walk out onto the mud flats at low tide, sink in, and get stuck. PMFR personnel will then enter the mudflats with the assistance of a CCG air-cushion vehicle (hovercraft) and rescue trapped staff. 

The City of Port Moody, Port Moody Fire-Rescue, and Port Moody Police work to educate residents and visitors on a regular basis about the danger posed by the mudflats. People are urged to stay off the mudflats; while it may seem firm, the mud can give way suddenly. People and animals can sink, get stuck, and be unable to get out before the tide comes in.

Please read a 2017 media release for more information on the mudflats, and what people should do if they get stuck in the mud. 

Date: Thursday, June 14, 2018
Time: 12noon until approximately 2:30pm
Location: The exercise will be conducted at the Old Mill Site, accessible via the entrance to the Shoreline Trail across from 533/535 San Remo Drive, Port Moody (from here it is a five-minute walk along the trail to the mudflats). 

Please note the CCG air-cushion vehicle may be diverted or cancelled at any time for operational reasons.