PTSC-Online and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities have been discussing how PTSC-Online can help FCM members with emergency management issues. This PTSC-Online News blog article provides a real life example of how our respective organizations and PTSC-Online members can work together.
PTSC-Online and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) have been discussing how PTSC-Online can help FCM members with emergency management issues. This PTSC-Online News blog article provides a real life example of how our respective organizations and PTSC-Online members can work together.
I included excerpts below from some e-mails on the subject of preparedness for wildfires on BC. PTSC-Online plans to help in the following manner:
- This PTSC-Online News blog article is being published to raise awareness about the issue and to encourage our members to help as they are able
- The PTSC-Online blogs, discussion groups and wiki (knowledge base) tools are being made available to involved and interested stakeholders to help work towards improved solutions
- Information on the Partners in Protection program is being added to the wiki for the future reference of all PTSC-Online members
If you have suggestions or resources which can help our BC members please include them in your comment to this blog.
---- background information -----
To PTSC-Online
Some of Federation of Canadian Municipality members, particularly in BC, are concerned with the response capacity they have with respect to wildfires. Does your new PTSC-Online initiative have a feature or component that could help them? See below please.
Talusier A. LaSalle
Analyste des politiques | Policy Analyst
Fédération canadienne des municipalités | Federation of Canadian Municipalities
24 rue Clarence Street, Ottawa (Ontario) K1N 5P3
Office/Bureau/Cell: (613) 907-6243, Fax/Téléc.: (613) 241-7440
E-mail/Courriel: [email protected] www.fcm.ca
Hey Kelly I agree totally I hope we can highlight why it is critical that property and home owners take responsibility for Fire Smart actions. Partners in Protection needs government funding support to make Fire Smart/Fire Wise programs available on a national basis. The reality is climate change is overwhelming government's ability to protect small rural communities. Russia is a good example
Greg Lay
Mayor of Kaslo BC
-----Original Message-----
From: O'shea, Kelly [mailto:Kelly.O'[email protected]]
Sent: August 3, 2010 11:54 AM
The fire situation in B.C. is critical with limited resources and numerous fires. Priorities are life and property only with many wildfires left unattended. Unfortunate fatalities from aircraft crashes, vehicle accidents and failure to obey evacuation orders are making headlines daily. Fires in Russia have resulted in dozens of fatalities and whole settlements being destroyed.
This may be an opportunity for Partners In Protection to get some media coverage on wildland / urban interface issues. As you probably know Adam Gossell is on fire export to B.C. I spoke with him this morning and he supports the idea of getting some media exposure. We might be able to get some expertise from his group at SRD to assist in drafting a media release. I would appreciate some feed back and your thoughts on this.
Kelly O'Shea
Executive Director
Partners In Protection Association
c/o Canadian Forest Service
5320-122 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T6H 3S5
ph# 780-435-7338
Working Together For Safer Communities in The Wildland/Urban Interface
2 Comments
The FireSmart program is a good start in Canada for building homeowner awareness. The problem however is that many of these communities contuiue to permit design standards for the developments and individuals properties that are not defensible. NFPA has a number standards that specifically address the need for increased building standards and protective measures in NFPA 1141 and NFPA 1144. NFPA 1144 is specifically referencd in the FireSmart manual. Communities can adopt municipal bylaws that require these standards in high risk areas. All major building and fire codes in the US require these standards but the National Buildinng Code of Canada is silent on this. These standards then require community based awareness programs as well as homeowners maintaining property standards. (Both these standards like all NFPA standards can be viewed on line for free.)
Additionally NFPA through its Firewise website www.firewise.org has free resources for the Canada fire service including lesson plans on running community education campaigns, water supplly, risks to structural fire fighters combatting wildland urban interface fires. All these materials can be used with the Canadian FireSmart materials to deliver effective programs.
Sean Tracey, P.Eng., MIFireE, Canadian Regional manager NFPA.
See the recent article in NFPA News - Canada blog on the MOU recently signed between NFPA and Partners in Protection to help protect Canadians from wildfires. Here is a link to the article.
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