New provincial legislation will require a certain level of training for emergency responders to enter buildings on fire.
If the new legislation were in effect, the fire department in the Village of Radium Hot Springs would not be allowed to enter buildings that are on fire.
“We would still go in (to burning buildings) because we haven’t been told otherwise,” said Radium fire chief Dave Dixon.
If the new rules were in place, a kitchen fire inside a condominium would have to be attended to from the building’s outside.
“Exterior attack-only is probably not an option. That just doesn’t work,” said Radium mayor Clara Reinhardt. “The playbook has been sent back to the government because there are some uncertain kinds of language as to how it impacts rural communities.”
But while the legislation will pose new challenges, achieving an adequate level of training has always been a struggle for the fire department in Radium, Dixon said.
“It’s not unique to this situation,” he said. “We’re struggling to get it done.”
Reinhardt said that as the legislation and requirements for training become more clear, council will be in consultation with the fire department to explore all options before deciding which direction to take.
