$55,000 plus Port investment Fund contribution helps Lax Kw'alaams Search and Rescue

Upgrades to the main Search and Rescue vessel for the Lax Kw'alaams Rescue Society will see the Station 65 crew taking to the water with new confidence this spring, that after the Prince Rupert Port Authority provided 55,345 dollars in funding from their Community Investment Fund for the work.

The announcement of the funding was made today by the Port, following a Friday event that celebrated the upgrades for the Lax Kw'alaam group.

Today's advisory outlined some of the work that has been done on the Lax Kw'alaams vessel and other elements of the station's work that the funding will assist.

The upgrade included the purchase and installation of radar and communication equipment, as well as general boat handling, emergency response equipment and forward-looking infrared search equipment. The engine and equipment upgrades will improve incident response time and provide for opportunity to take on more complex future rescues in the future.

Some important upgrades to the Lax Kw'alaams Station 65 vessel will
help to keep the watch on the North Coast
(photo from PRPA)

James Henry Senior one of the 22 members that keeps the watch of the waters near Lax Kw'alaams made note of the investment as part of today's announcement.

“The Rescue Society’s key focus is to ensure that we’re ready to respond to any given situation that comes our way – this project helps us do that. We look forward to a continued relationship with the Port Authority to enhance safety preparedness in our waters.”

Lax Kw'alaams works with both the Prince Rupert RCM-SAR Station 64 and that of Gitxaala, in providing service to the North Coast.

The Lax Kw'alaams response area includes that of Lax Kw'alaams, north to Kinolith, as well as response for vessels in distress in the waters of Hecate Strait.

Areas of response for Station 65 include waters off of Lax K'wallams,
Hecate Strait and approaches through the Nass Valley communities

For more on today's announcement see this information release from the Port of Prince Rupert.

Further background on the Port's Community Investment fund can be found here.

For more items of note related to the work of Emergency responders on the North Coast see our archive page here.

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