Barriere and area residents came out on Apr. 29 to wish Barriere Ambulance Chief Tim Hoffman all the best as he starts his retirement. The party was held at the ambulance station, and was complete with a cake featuring four tiny ambulances. Well-wishers congratulated the retiree and thanked him for taking such good care of them over the years when they were in need of his services.
Tim started his career as a paramedic with the ambulance service in Westbank in 1979, then moved on to Vancouver in 1980 where he continued to work full time with the ambulance service. In 1988 he made the move to Barriere and continued as a paramedic, and serving as Ambulance Chief until his retirement. Tim noted he is retiring one month short of 32 years as an ambulance paramedic.
Planning to take some camping trips, and enjoy the time off with his wife Elaine for the first month or two; Tim says he then plans to come back part time as a paramedic, “Just to keep my finger in”.
“It’s going to be strange not having a full time job to go to,” said the retiring Chief, “I’ve always had steady work since I was 16.”