Time for a Wildfire Response Working Group in BC

There is a lot of money being spent on Wildfire Planning, Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness but a lot of us are the dropping ball on Response. We are going to be facing large, uncontrollable wildfires for years, maybe lifetimes to come. We can’t afford to build a big enough organization to respond to every wildfire the way we would like. More and more often those of us in industry find ourselves responding to fires with less help than we would like. The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), and the residents of BC, need those of us in industry to step up and improve the quality of our response.

The Problem

The Wildfire Act and Regs require any of us working in, or near, the wildlands of BC, to report and respond to any wildfire on, or near, our workplace. This applies to all resource based industries (Forestry, Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Mining, Tourism, and Construction) and all levels of worker (rookie labourer to senior manager). Our response plan should be based on experience and ability, values at risk, current and expected fire behavior and resources available.

As well as the legislated requirements, we may have even more detailed contractual and insurance obligations to respond to any wildfire we encounter on or near our worksite. I suggest that, as stewards of the land and good neighbours, we also have a moral obligation to respond to the best of our abilities.

Worksafe BC Regs say that because we have a legal requirement to respond, we have to be “adequately” trained and that the BC Wildfire S100 meets this definition.

It doesn’t.

A lot of us think we know a lot more about wildfire response than we actually do.

Our current wildfire training for non-BCWS people and groups is a mess. The S100 curriculum contains out of date, incomplete and unsafe information. Trainers deliver in a variety of methods. There is no train the trainer standards or trainer evaluations. Many instructors haven’t been on an active fire for years. There is no central data base of who has completed what training to what standard. It is difficult to source up to date training material.

As an instructor who presents myself as a wildfire expert to my students, I couldn’t deliver the S100 as is. I would feel especially bad about delivering out of date and incomplete safety information. I revised the material to try and better assist students to properly assess a fire, set objectives, make a plan and implement actions safely and effectively. I also utilize active fire fighters as assistant instructors for the practical day to ensure the skills taught are as up to date as posssible.

Various other groups have, or are developing, their own material. This has potential to be a huge problem as non BCWS responders will have different levels of training, procedures and equipment. There is no way BC Wildfire staff will be able to confidently incorporate us into their response as they won’t have a clue what we know or can do.

The Way Forward

I have had various first aid tickets since I was 18 years old. I often see situations where someone needs help (medical distress, car accidents etc.). If safe to do so I provide first aid until BC Ambulance arrives. When I turn the scene over to the Ambulance attendant I tell them I am a Level 1 or 3 first aider and they immediately know what I can and can’t do and will give me directions based on that knowledge.

Developing trust is key. We need to set up the same standardized system for Wildfire Response as First Aid. The time is right to develop an industry based Wildfire Response Working Group to identify needs, establish training standards, improve training content and delivery, develop response guidelines and standardize equipment. This will also assist BC Wildfire Service supervisors to be more confident in knowing our limitations and capabilities when we offer assistance.

I have no idea how to establish a Working Group like this or if this is even the best way to move forward. I have approached a couple of industry groups and am waiting to hear back.

Let me know if you think this is a good idea and if you have any ideas on how to proceed.

Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Forest Services

250-499-1075

[email protected]