B.C. fire chief and his four legged friend join post-hurricane rescue in the Bahamas

PENTICTON (NEWS 1130) — Penticton’s fire chief and his rescue dog Sammy are joining post-hurricane rescue efforts in the Bahamas.

Hurricane Dorian devastated the Islands last week, killing at least 49 people. The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued nearly 300 people so far and tens of thousands have been left homeless.

Chief Larry Watkinson and his rescue dog boarded a plane for the Bahamas on Sunday, joining a team of B.C. firefighters pitching in to help search for survivors.

“The chief is off to the Bahamas to do his part to try and help with the effort down there,” says Penticton Fire Captain Wes Swaren. “In the rubble there will be people that are buried. So, the dogs are specifically trained to smell out survivors and people.”

Once a dog identifies the location of a potential survivor, the site is probed with cameras and a team of rescuers is deployed.

Chief Watkinson has a history of flying to disaster scenes to help, something Swaren says makes the department proud.

“He’s proven with his leadersdhip that he wants to make a difference,” says Swaren.

Watkinson and Sammy joined a team of 13 Burnaby firefighters and four rescue dogs.

“Our members will be meeting with the military [Monday] morning to get a charter flight out to Marsh Harbour which is a town in Abaco Islands. It is the worst hit area as rescue and recovery has been affected by the debris that has been left by the storm and people have stated it is ‘unliveable.’ The priority will be rescuing and evacuating the living and with our four dogs, our members will be concentrating on search and recovery,” a spokesperson for Burnaby firefighters said in an email.

The Canadian government has sent $500,000 in aid, as well as military personnel and equipment.

Meantime, Dorian hit Atlantic Canada on Saturday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people, toppling a huge construction crane, and ripping roofs off apartments in Halifax.

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