Pete Wise has dedicated his life to helping people in trouble.
“In one year alone I was out on 64 call-outs,” said Wise, a search manager with Vernon Search and Rescue. “That was just one year and I have been doing this since 1964.”
Wise has served almost 60 years as a search and rescue volunteer. When he was 16-years-old he joined the Rover Scouts with the 1st Port Hammond Alouettes on the Lower Mainland and has never looked back. He’s served for so many years that a special commemorative pin was created just for him.
“I’m hoping, God willing, they’ll make a pin for me for 60,” said Wise.
The countless rescues he has assisted have stayed in his memory forever.
“A couple of years ago on New Year’s Eve two little boys lost on the Westside there was a huge response fire department, everybody was there,” said Wise. “We truly thought we were going to lose these guys but we went and we got them.”
He never slowed down until December 2019 when wise was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid accumulates on the brain.
“I wasn’t standing, I wasn’t walking I wasn’t doing anything but now I’m up and still going,” said Wise. “It’s been really difficult but I’m still going and the group still wants me part of it.”
Now he is on the mend and ready to get back out and join rescue teams in the field once again.
“I’ll slow down but, I’m not going to quit,” said Wise.
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