Skilled tradesmen busy laying the groundwork for 460 additional beds inside the field house at UNBC’s Northern Sport Centre – video 250News

Prince George, B.C. – It’s a beehive of activity inside the field house at the Northern Sport Centre at UNBC as work is underway to create 460 additional beds for evacuees fleeing wildfires in the Cariboo.

It’s a huge space – about the size of two soccer fields – and the goal is to have the beds ready by 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. The 460 beds would be an addition to the 183 beds already available inside the Sport Centre’s gymnasium.

“The field house is a little bit different from the gymnasium because it’s a synthetic grass surface so you need to protect it,” says UNBC’s director of communications and marketing Matt Wood. “So, skilled tradesmen are building a sub-floor then bringing in some flooring to be able to put the cots in.”

Geoff Payne, UNBC’s interim vice-president research and graduate programs, stands inside the Northern Sport Centre’s field house

Along with the beds, the Northern Sport Centre also offers such amenities as food services, bathrooms, and showers.

“What you see here is a complete collaboration between the city, the university, and companies here in town,” adds interim vice-president research and graduate programs Geoff Payne. “I think it really speaks to the community spirit here in the North. When faced with a tough situation, when people’s lives are really affected, we come together to support everybody.”

He adds it’s an effort to be proactive rather than reactive.

“We’d like to see all this hard work go for naught but you’ve got to in a situation like this be process driven and have things in place.”