Last weekend was a difficult one for many in our community. On Friday night, a building at the Williams Inn was destroyed, and on Sunday, a chlorine leak led to the evacuation of the complex and a number of people being taken to hospital for treatment.
My heart goes out to the families who lost everything in the fire, and to those swimmers and their families affected on Sunday. A full investigation into the cause is ongoing. We take this incident seriously, and we intend to find out exactly what happened so it can be prevented in the future.
Out of these tragedies, I have heard some positive stories. The RCMP did an incredible job accounting for each tenant affected by the fire. The Williams Lake, 150 Mile House, and Wildwood fire departments courageously fought the fire for hours in the middle of the night. The community has responded by donating generously to these families. City staff at the complex — who are well-trained and run drills for emergencies such as the chlorine incident — and first responders quickly and safely evacuated people from the building and did an impressive job in helping those affected. We recently received comments from swim meet participants from Prince George that they received excellent care from the first responders and all the way through to the nurses and doctors at the hospital. There, too, was another example of a commitment to caring — doctors came in on a Sunday and nurses took on extra duties to care for people in the emergency room.
Another, unrelated bright note: Taseko Mines and the Tsilhqot’in First Nation have agreed not to engage in more legal action as Taseko works to collect for information for the federal environmental assessment of the New Prosperity project. It’s my hope that as we move forward, both parties continue to pursue meaningful respectful conversation over this proposed project.
Kerry Cook is the mayor of Williams Lake.