Whereas the Office of the Fire Commissioner has, over the past three years, put more requirements in place for fire departments in British Columbia; And whereas the cost and time commitment of these increased training, risk management, and records management requirements have negatively impacted volunteer and paid-on-call fire fighter recruitment and has resulted in increased local government taxation: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM be directed to work with the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Office of the Fire Commissioner to explore provincial funding support to help fund staffing, compliance with standards, and capital costs of British Columbia fire departments.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General The Province recognizes that many communities throughout British Columbia face funding challenges in delivering fire and rescue services. In 2014, the Office of the Fire Commissioner OFC created the BC Fire Service Minimum Training Standards Playbook in an effort to enact achievable minimum training standards for structural firefighter competencies. This was a direct response to recommendations of the Fire Services Liaison Group report released in 2010. Training for Exterior level firefighting can be administered through a Train-the-Trainer model using In-House instructors and training personnel. These training materials are provided upon request to the OFC at no cost. Prior to these new minimum standards, the training standards that were in place for over ten years were those of the National Fire Protection Association which were more costly and, in many cases, more difficult to achieve. In addition, it has always been statutory law to comply with WorkSafeBC Law and Regulations, which outlines the requirements for training relative to the requirements of the firefighter or supervisors role, and for the keeping of training records. Emergency Management BC and the OFC continue to work collaboratively with UBCM, the Local Government Management Association, BC Wildfire Service BCWS, and the Fire Chiefs Association of BC FCABC on a variety of funding and training initiatives that can assist fire departments and local authorities that have less resources. BCWS currently provides subsidized structural protection training courses for local authority fire departments for an urban interface environment and is working closely with the OFC. The OFC is now providing wildland urban interface structural protection command - level training courses regionally throughout BC, at no cost to attendees. This training started in October 2019 and will continue until late Spring 2020. Invitations are extended to all departments within each region, and seats are filled on a first come, first served basis. The OFC is also supporting an array of wildland interface fire training available to all departments through funding provided to the 2020 Penticton Wildfire Urban Interface Symposium. The FCABC is currently helping to administer 5 million in residual grant funding to assist local authority fire departments. This is being done in 2019 in two phases: Phase 1 will be provided to fire departments in communities that were affected by the wildfires in 2017. Phase 2 will see any remaining funds from this program made available to other departments across British Columbia. On May 10, 2019 the Province provided 5 million to the UBCM Community Emergency Preparedness Fund to develop a stream of funding for volunteer and composite fire departments to facilitate the delivery of firefighter training and to purchase new or replacement equipment. The CEPF closed to applications in November 2018; over 185 applications were made. These applications have been assessed and applicants will learn of their status in the coming weeks.