Miracle Theatre director Ted Price and producer Anne Laughlin happily presented Tanya Spooner, Prince George Fire Rescue Services (PGFRS) manager of emergency programs and fire chief Cliff Warner with $180,025 at a ceremony at the Prince George Community Foundation (PGCF) office Tuesday.
Mindy Stroet, PGCF director of development, and Sandra Blackwell, PGCF fund development coordinator, were also on hand to represent the foundation, which holds the donation in trust while the structure protection unit (SPD) is being built and outfitted to specifications required by PGFRS.
The SPD unit being purchased is very similar to the ones used at the Wildfire Training Summit held in April and will enable crews to protect buildings from approaching wildfires and flying embers. Members of the Prince George department attended the training to become proficient in the deployment and use of the equipment as well as to be able to determine how best to modify the unit to make it work efficiently with existing PGFRS resources.
Laughlin said the project’s success was a reflection of Prince George’s generosity. This year it was especially difficult for the theatre company to achieve such a lofty goal. Price said they were especially grateful to donors Noreen and Jim Rustad and Curt Garland, as well as over 500 others, who provided the funds over and above ticket sales to make the purchase possible.
The PGCF will oversee the procurement process of the SPD, which should be brought into operation in the next two-three months.
