Thursday January 11, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated 4:22 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
More than 200 volunteer fire departments across BC are receiving provincial funding to enhance their capabilities by funding new training and equipment to better keep people in British Columbia safe.
In the Capital Regional District:
A fire department training and equipment project for 2024 sees $179,439.98 going to regional partners: East Sooke, North Galiano, Otter Point, Shirley, Willis Point, Port Renfrew.
The grant was applied for by the Capital Regional District (CRD) whereby some of the funds will be held for group purchases and the rest distributed to the individual fire departments.
Those are rural areas outside of more centralized municipalities with their own career-staffed fire departments (e.g. Sooke and Langford).
Local MLA Ravi Parmar (Langford-Juan de Fuca) calls the today’s funding announcement “a critical investment”, emphasizing that rural communities are now “better equipped to support their communities”.
Local MLA Mitzi Dean (Esquimalt-Methosin) is pleased to see Metchosin included in the funding announcement. “People in Metchosin are served by an excellent fire department that keeps our community safe,” said Dean. The Metchosin Fire Department is receiving $29,272 for apparatus equipment updates.
Replacing PPE:
Chief John McCrea of Otter Point Fire Department says his fire service will receive approximately $21,000 for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE), specifically turnout gear.
“Turnout gear has a maximum shelf life of 10 years no matter what condition it is in,” says McCrea, adding that often the turn out gear can be worn out before the 10-year maximum shelf life.
Turnout gear for any fire protection service can include: bunker coats and pants, aluminized gear, fire helmets, hoods, structural gloves, fire boots, station boots and socks, suspenders, fire uniforms, and eye protection.
In the Cowichan area:
- Cowichan Bay Improvement District – Improving structure fire response: SCBA – $30,000
- Cowichan Tribes – 2023 fire-service equipment: $22,000
- Cowichan Valley Regional District – Equipment purchase and training; Regional partners: North Oyster, Malahat, Mesachie Lake, Sahtlam, Honeymoon Bay, Youbou, Caycuse – $210,000
“Many people living in smaller or remote BC communities are served by hard-working volunteer or partly volunteer fire departments. These departments don’t have the same resources found in larger communities,” said George Heyman, acting Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.
“We’re supporting these fire departments with funding for equipment and training to ensure people are safer and better protected by enhanced local firefighting capability that meets local needs,” said Heyman in a Environment and Climate Change Strategy news release today.
Other parts of south Vancouver Island:
From the CEPF funding announced today, Central Saanich will receive $30,000 for a Structural Protection Unit (SPU) improvement project and Sidney will receive $8,000 for structure protection training.
$6.2 million provincially:
Through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF), the Province is providing more than $6.2 million for 122 local projects, benefiting more than 200 volunteer and composite fire departments. Composite fire departments are those that have a mix of staff and volunteers.
Most communities in BC rely on volunteer firefighters to protect people, homes and businesses. These local projects will help ensure volunteer firefighters have the resources and training they need to keep their communities safe from fire.
Since 2017, more than $17 million has been provided to volunteer and composite fire departments through the CEPF for additional equipment and training. This funding also helps fire departments meet the B.C. structure firefighter minimum training standards.
Safety goal:
“Keeping people in our communities safe is a top priority and supporting our volunteer fire departments is key,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
“The funding through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund shows our commitment to helping local crews in smaller communities. We’re investing in training, equipment and mental-health support to improve firefighting and care for our front-line workers. This effort strengthens our push to build strong, resilient communities across British Columbia.”
Funding will be provided to local governments, First Nations, and volunteer and composite fire departments for various projects, such as:
- Creating a mental-health peer-support team for all 15 of the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s volunteer fire departments, including a four-day critical-incident stress-management course to help firefighters better deal with the pressures of the job.
- Upgrading and replacing equipment, and purchasing new equipment, including a quick-connect deluge gun, which will help put out fires quickly with limited personnel, for the Sandspit Volunteer Fire Department.
- New relay tanks to increase water-supply capabilities, improve refill time and replace older gear for the Skeetchestn Fire Department.
- Hands-on training, personnel and demonstration props, such as fire-window simulators, thermal imaging cameras and rescue mannequins, for 16 volunteer fire departments in the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
Disaster risk reduction and more:
CEPF helps communities mitigate and prepare for emergencies by funding local projects and initiatives in several categories. These include disaster-risk reduction and climate adaptation, public notification and evacuation-route planning, and emergency support-services equipment and training.
The Province has invested $369 million into CEPF since it was established in 2017. Approximately $176 million has been provided to First Nations and local governments through CEPF for as many as 1,700 projects that help communities prepare for disasters and climate-related emergencies. The CEPF is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities for the Province.
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NEWS SECTIONS: JUAN DE FUCA | VANCOUVER ISLAND | EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS