It all started with a red fire truck.
Actually, it started with a job loss a couple of years ago before the downturn in the economy, when former oil and gas worker Andy Hill realized he needed to start seeking opportunities in a different career.
“I saw the fire truck on the side of the road for sale – I always say the truck saw me – and I became repurposed just as much as it did,” Hill said with a laugh.
After working overseas for more than 20 years in oil and gas, Hill jumped in “feet first” into the new venture last year and has not looked back.
“I did what I did, the original part for survival – you lose your job and you lose yourself and it is a huge blow and it knocks you down, I was at my lowest point,” Hill explained.
After two years of not working, Hill said he knew he had to find a new way to start earning income.
Hill then stumbled upon the 1977 fire truck, originally from the Revelstoke fire department, and started up his business Springbank Lights offering residential Christmas lighting and small services such as tree removal and aerial boom services in Springbank and the surrounding area.
“There were some hard times, we sold off our house and everything but I always say I didn’t lose anything, I gained my girls … The toughest job I’ve ever done was learning how to braid their hair,” Hill said with a laugh.
As a father to three daughters Hill has a soft spot for helping people.
One of the first jobs the father of three did was in Bragg Creek, for a woman who promised Christmas lights for her daughter. Upon hearing Hill’s initial cost estimate, the woman politely declined saying it was out of her budget. Hill began searching for cheap lighting and called her back saying he could do the work within her budget.
“She sent me a picture of her daughter looking at the tree with tears in her eyes – I don’t think anyone gets mad looking at lights,” Hill said.
The family man knows what it means to see beaming children, as Hill is finally happy to come home to his wife and daughters every night.
“There were times when people thought it was crazy, everyone I know thought I was crazy,” Hill said with a laugh.
“But I did some deep soul-searching and just went for it and it did work out. At the end of the day you have to believe in yourself.”
Hill’s work can be seen in Cochrane at the Fireside intersection on the decorated lampposts and at specific show homes in the community.
For more information on the business, go to springbanklights.ca.
FACTBOX
Services provided by Springbank Lights
Show home lighting
Paw Patrol parties
Tree removal
Aerial Boom services
Custom holiday lighting
