Fire Safety

             Some comments by BC Forests regarding Volunteer Fire Departments

What motivates someone to join a volunteer fire department? The answer, of course, depends on the individual. Staff at the Wildfire Management Branch have had the privilege of working with some amazing and highly dedicated people. They come from all walks of life and donate considerable amounts of time and energy to help protect their neighbors and communities.
Volunteers must commit to regularly attending fire practices and training sessions — some optional and many others mandatory. They often rearrange their personal schedules so they can be on call to serve their communities, which may mean turning down event invitations and missing out on other opportunities. They are ready and able to respond whenever they’re needed, day or night.
They manage to juggle their work and volunteer
commitments and, if they run their own businesses, they take steps to ensure that their businesses can continue to operate if they are called away. Many employers support their community’s volunteer firefighters by giving them the flexibility to respond to incidents during normal working hours. Firefighters work closely with the other volunteers on their team and always endeavor to interact with other agencies and the public in a professional manner.
When the alarm bell sounds, volunteers don’t always know how serious the incident is or how long they’ll be working at the site. It could be a burning bylaw infraction, a house fire, a traffic accident or anything in between.