Firewood Collection for
Quebec

EMERGENCY MEASURES ORGANIZATION--Firewood Collection for Quebec

The generosity of Nova Scotians will help keep a lot of people warm as Quebec battles the effects of the recent ice storm.

Nova Scotians have donated enough firewood to fill three railcars, and more wood is still arriving. Members of the Halifax Ground Search and Rescue Team spent the weekend filling two railcars with wood donated in the Halifax area. Those railcars will leave the siding on Chain Lake Drive later today and head to St-Hyacinthe, Que.

More than 200 cords of wood were collected on the weekend in Halifax. Quebec has said it needs at least 10,000 cords of dry wood to help heat homes without power. The donated wood does not have to be cut and split.

In Windsor, firewood began arriving at the offices of the Windsor and Hants Railway before railcars arrived today. Volunteers with the West Hants Search and Rescue Team are helping with the unloading of the wood. Donations will be accepted until 5 p.m. each day to Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Windsor and Hants Railway on Water Street in Windsor.

Volunteers with Cape Breton Ground Search and Rescue will help unload wood donated in the Sydney area. Firewood can be dropped off at the offices of the Cape Breton and Northern Nova Scotia Railroad on Ferry Street, Sydney. Donations will be accepted until 5 p.m. each day to Wednesday, Jan. 21.

"Nova Scotians have always been willing to lend a helping hand to a neighbour in need," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Don Downe, who is leading the government's co-ordination of relief for Central Canada. "The generosity we have witnessed in the past two days is so typical of the people of this province."

Meanwhile, a Department of Transportation and Public Works crew is returning to storm-ravaged Iberville, Que., with about 20 more generators. One of the larger units, a 400-kilowatt generator, was previously used at the Westray mine.

Gerald Knol, one of the drivers making the return trip, said it isn't hard to see the effect the equipment is having. "I can't describe how happy those farmers were when we brought that first load of generators."

Mr. Knol was a member of the crew that delivered two flatbeds of generators on the weekend, primarily to farmers in the Iberville area. "We're a little tired, but it's well worth it," he said. "It's a really nice feeling to know you can have that kind of effect on people."

Mr. Knol and co-worker Don Ross, both of whom returned home at 3 a.m. Monday, will drive as far as Fredericton tonight and complete the journey to Iberville Tuesday morning.