A string of fires over two days has underlined the urgent need for more volunteer firefighters in the Elk Valley and South Country.
The region’s four Rural Fire and Rescue departments have been forced to rely on mutual aid when attending incidents as their numbers dwindle while the threat of fire only increases.
Over 24 hours last week, the Regional District of East Kootenay services responded to four significant fires as well as medical call outs.
On July 12, firefighters were called to a wildfire at Ayes Ranch campground near Lake Koocanusa, which members of the public worked to contain until crews arrived.
They had only just returned to their fire halls that afternoon when they were called to a structure fire at an abandoned building on the Elko Airport property.
A total of 18 firefighters from the Elko, Jaffray and Baynes Lake departments battled to bring the blaze under control and to stop it from spreading to nearby trees, and other structures.
They managed to keep the fire contained and several firefighters remained on fire watch overnight to secure the scene and deal with any hot spots.
The next day, Rural Fire and Rescue received back-to-back calls for a vehicle trailer fire near Galloway and a grass fire near Hosmer.
Highway 3/93 was temporarily shut down that afternoon after a truck hauling a fifth wheel trailer burst into flames.
The occupants of the vehicle were able to escape safely, however, the truck and trailer were a total loss.
At the same time as the trailer fire, a call came in about a grass fire in the Dicken Road area near Hosmer.
Members of the Hosmer department extinguished the grass fire with the help of firefighters from Fernie Fire and Rescue who responded through mutual aid with crews, a tender and their bush truck.
Elk Valley and South Country Rural Fire & Rescue Chief Dave Boreen said the outcome of each incident could have been different had extra help not been available.
“We would have been able to respond but we would have been very shorthanded,” he said.
“When we’re short personnel, we have to look at the way we do things differently, so our tactics would change.
“We might not be as aggressive with some of the fire techniques… we might just look at evacuation versus attacking the fire because we don’t have the manpower to deal with things.
“When you have an incident that might take 15 people to do correctly and safely, and we go there with five people it makes a big difference to how we handle things.”
Boreen said it was normal for volunteer numbers to fluctuate as people’s commitments changed or they moved away.
However, all four departments in the Elk Valley and South Country have been short-staffed for some time.
Boreen said this was a concern amid increasing fire risk, with no relief from the hot, dry conditions in sight.
“The safety of the firefighters is number one, so we have to plan our tactics around that,” he said.
“If our resources are low, the level of service that we can provide is low.”
Boreen hopes to recruit at least five new members per department to help existing volunteers respond to incidents.
The RDEK recently introduced a new benefits package for volunteer firefighters, which includes life insurance, extended health, dental and an employee assistance program.
To qualify, firefighters must contribute six months of service then complete 70 hours per year of combined training and incident response.
In addition to the benefits package, they also receive valuable skills, free training and are paid on-call.
“It’s a great way to give back to the community,” said Boreen.
“A lot of of people when they join the volunteer fire department they say it was one of the best things that they ever did especially because they can meet new people in the community… there are a lot of benefits to it.”
For more information on the new benefits program or how to become a volunteer firefighter, contact the RDEK or visit Rdek.bc.ca.
