BC Wildfire Service

Last updated
BC Wildfire Service
British Columbia Wildfire Service.png
Operational area
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Province Flag of British Columbia.svg  British Columbia
Address Victoria, British Columbia
Agency overview [1]
Established1912
StaffingCareer
Fire chief Ian Meier
Facilities and equipment
Divisions4 crew divisions
Website
BC Wildfire Service
BC Wildfire Service personnel in 2016 BC Wildfire Service personnel and Christy Clark 2016.png
BC Wildfire Service personnel in 2016

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is the wildfire suppression service of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is an element of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. [2] [3]

Contents

Operations

For suppression purposes, the BCWS divides the province of British Columbia into six regional fire centres, each of which is responsible for managing wildfire response within its boundaries. These fire centres are in turn divided into local fire zones. Provincial level activities are managed by the Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre in Kamloops and the BCWS Headquarters in Victoria. [4]

Crews

The BC Wildfire Service employs four types of wildfire suppression crews throughout the province. All BCWS firefighters are classified as Type 1 firefighters.

Once a fire is deemed contained, Type 2 firefighters, also known as contract crews, may be used to "mop-up" and patrol a fire to extinguish any remaining fire activity. All Type 2 firefighters in British Columbia are private contractors retained by the provincial government. [5]

Aviation

The agency pioneered the use of Automated Flight Following for fire helicopters in the 1980s. [6] BC contracts out aerial firefighting to Conair Group of Abbotsford, British Columbia and Air Spray of Red Deer, Alberta, rather than maintaining its own flight staff and equipment. [7]

References

  1. "BC Government Directory, FLNR - BC Wildfire Service". dir.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  2. Media Information, BC Wildfire Service, archived from the original on 2017-10-03, retrieved 2017-10-03
  3. Derrick Penner (August 11, 2017), "B.C. Forests Minister Doug Donaldson on hot seat with wildfires, softwood lumber talks", Vancouver Sun
  4. "Fire Centres". BC Wildfire Service. Archived from the original on 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  5. "Wildfire Crews - BC Wildfire Service". BC Wildfire Service. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  6. "Aerial Firefighting: The Dynamic Role of Helicopters", Helicopters, June 2, 2009
  7. "I want to be an aerial firefighter. What will my salary be?", The Globe and Mail , September 2, 2015