Residents of the rural part of the Commonage will be asked for their thoughts on fire protection.
The North Okanagan Regional District is considering pursuing interest in a fire service for 98 properties along Commonage Road, Bailey Road and Highway 97.
“I get e-mails from people concerned about the situation,” said director Mike Gavinchuk.
Both Coldstream and Vernon have turned down requests to have their departments respond to fires there.
The properties are part of Area B, which includes Swan Lake and a portion of the BX. Those areas are served by the BX-Swan Lake Fire Department, and a limited response to the Commonage may be possible.
“Limited response is intended to reflect the fact that response times may exceed 20 minutes, which for an aggressive fire could represent total loss of a structure,” said Ron Baker, protective services manager, in a memo.
“The primary benefit of such a response would be to control if possible the fire spreading to adjacent structures.”
Insurance companies do not recognize an area beyond eight kilometres from a fire hall as having protection. Given that the shortest distance from the BX fire hall to the Commonage is 13 kilometres, a reduction in insurance premiums is not anticipated.
Residents will be asked if they want to establish a protection area to access the BX fire service.
After the input process, NORD will not likely take any further action unless a petition for service is received from more than 50 per cent of the property owners representing 50 per cent of the property value.
Gavinchuk believes Vernon firefighters are the only viable option for residents.
“Their fire trucks go right by these people to get to Predator Ridge,” he said.
“The city should be willing to help. The residents would be willing to pay for the service.”
