Whereas the Office of the Fire Commissioner of BC developed and issued the British Columbia Fire Service Minimum Training Standards Structure Firefighters Competency and Training Playbook, 2014 for implementation by British Columbia fire departments; And whereas local governments are responsible for training, evaluation, and records of training management for firefighters, inclusive of rural fire departments within regional district jurisdiction; And whereas local governments have limited resources to ensure that adequate training, evaluation, and records management are consistent for rural fire departments: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Office of the Fire Commissioner of BC to implement Fire Training and Evaluation Teams to provide ongoing training opportunities, evaluation and records management training for all fire departments in British Columbia.
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Emergency Management BC The minimum fire training standard established in September 2014 and amended in May 2015, provided the specific training requirements required for the level of fire services that communities choose to provide. Although training and its related evaluations are the responsibility of the fire department, since 2014 the Office of the Fire Commissioner has developed a training curriculum, including all of the materials related to interior and exterior firefighting operations levels of service, and made it available at no charge to fire departments to facilitate the option of in-house training in order to minimize related costs. The Office of the Fire Commissioner has provided financial resources in partnership with the Fire Chiefs Association of B.C. to provide regional Train-the-Trainer courses throughout the province related to Team Leader positions. In addition, the Office of the Fire Commissioner has partnered with the Local Government Management Association, through on-going regional workshops, to provide training to Chief Administrative Officers and Fire Chiefs including the provision of information management, record keeping and training tools.