Back in the battle

Back in the battle
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published Sept. 6, 2003

Burnaby's firefighters have once again answered the call to help battle the raging forest fires in the B.C. Interior.

Fire chief Bob Cook, the city's chief engine mechanic and a crew of six firefighters with two trucks were dispatched to Kelowna on Thursday afternoon, after an urgent plea for assistance was issued by the B.C. Fire Commissioner's Office.

"We're going up there for the duration, until the fires are under control," said fire chief Doug Penn. "They've indicated that this time, the fire has broken out and it's out of control."

Unlike the B.C. Forest Service firefighters, who head into the woods to battle the blazes among the trees, the eight Burnaby firefighters will be based inside Kelowna, the largest city in the Okanagan, helping to make sure the flames do not destroy any homes or other buildings.

"Our main focus will be on structural protection," Penn said. "Whether in the city of Kelowna or in other cities, we will protect the houses and buildings instead of going into the woods and digging trenches with axes and hoes and that sort of thing."

Penn also said that this latest call-out will likely result in many more Burnaby firefighters rotating in and out of the Kelowna area until the fires are finally extinguished.

The Burnaby crews, who were called in on their vacations or days off, will work a four-days-on, four-days-off shift, rotating in and out of the Okanagan with other Burnaby firefighters.

Currently, adequate numbers of local firefighters on vacation are willing to serve and fulfill the city's requested allotment of firefighters, however, that could change, said Penn.

"We're doing it on a callback basis and right now we're calling people on vacation. If we can fill the requirement with people on vacation, we will."

Penn also said local taxpayers don't have to worry about picking up the costs of battling the forest fires - the provincial government will pay the entire bill for the operation.

"We get a task number and we track our hours and time, and the provincial government will compensate the firefighters," he said. "But for now, we'll probably pay the guys out of our budget, and then get reimbursed by the province. In the long haul, the province pays."

The call for firefighters from around the province was reissued Thursday at around 1:30 p.m., after it became obvious that the Okanagan Mountain Park fire was again gaining momentum and threatening homes. Two weeks ago, the fire blazed out of control, causing the evacuation of up to 35,000 people and consuming an estimated 240 homes.