Don Arney

Don Arney (born 1947) is a Canadian inventor and entrepreneur best known for inventing the Bambi Bucket, a collapsible helicopter bucket used for fighting forest fires.[1]

Arney is the founder of SEI Industries, an industrial fabric product manufacturer which he started in 1978.[2]

Early life

Arney was born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia; he spent the first eight years of his life there before moving a number of times around Vancouver Island in order to accommodate his father's work in construction.  In his youth, he spent time living in Port Alberni, Chemainus, Nanaimo and Victoria.

Arney attended Simon Fraser University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology.[3] [4]

Career

Arney worked at a Vancouver shipyard, testing underwater airbags.[1] Soon after, he moved to North Vancouver where he founded SEI industries in 1978 with Mark McCooey.[2][5] He began work on what would be his best-known invention, the Bambi Bucket. SEI introduced the first iteration of the Bambi Bucket to firefighters in 1982.  Its lightweight design and low price point made it a practical tool for fighting fires.[6] The Bambi Bucket was officially unveiled at the Helicopters Association International trade show that same year. The Bambi Bucket continues to be used in firefighting around the world; they were used in 2011 to cool nuclear reactors in Japan after damage from a tsunami.[7]

In 1984, SEI industries moved from North Vancouver to Richmond.

Arney continued to invent and acquire products with SEI Industries over the years. In 2002 he invented the HangBoard a winter sports board that combines the experiences of snowboarding and hang gliding.[8] While speeding downhill and manipulating steering rudders, the rider is suspended above the snow on a small folding crane. The invention has yet to be produced commercially.[9]

Awards and accolades

In 2017, Arney was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Washington, DC.[3]  He was recognized for the life saving qualities of his invention the Bambi Bucket.[10]

Arney has also received the BC Export Award, which was awarded to his company SEI Industries in 2003,[11] as well as an Ernest C. Manning Award, which he won in 1986.[12]

In 2005, Arney was featured in the BC Almanac's “Book of Greatest British Columbians.”[13]

References
  1. "Delta firm makes big splash with firefighting bucket". The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. September 1, 2003, Page: 27
  2. "Don Arney’s Bambi Bucket, a major contribution to aerial firefighting tech from the 1980s". IP Watchdog, By Steve Brachmann, October 2, 2017
  3. "NIHF Inductee Don Arney Invented the Helicopter Bambi Bucket". www.invent.org. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  4. "Who's News? Don Arney BSc’73". Simon Fraser University Magazine. November 2003
  5. Gordeon Hamilton. "Firm develops cost-saving fuel carrier". Calgary Herald: Oct 12, 2011
  6. "Space age technology to keep track of fires". British Columbia Lumberman. Vol. 71. Journal of Commerce; 1987. p. 38.
  7. "B.C. innovation helping to douse Japanese nuclear reactors". CTV News, March 19, 2011
  8. "New board on the block". Times Colonist, via www.pressreader.com. November 18, 2006. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  9. "Four toys to make your winter more perilous". Aaron Broverman · CBC Life, Jan 20, 2020
  10. "B.C. inventor of wildfire-fighting Bambi Bucket inducted to hall of fame". Vancouver Sun, Derrick Penner, March 16, 2017,
  11. Enterprise, Ministry of Competition, Science and (2003-11-17). "2003 B.C. EXPORT AWARDS WINNERS". archive.news.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  12. "Manning Innovation Awards - The Awards - Awards Banquet". www.multicom.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  13. Forsythe, Mark. (2005). The BC almanac book of greatest British Columbians. Dickson, Greg, 1956-, BC almanac (Radio program). Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Pub. ISBN 1-55017-368-5. OCLC 61258922.
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