Photo: Osoyoos Fire Department.
Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
Firefighters in Osoyoos are training with new tools as they prepare for the 2020 wildfire season while dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic.
“Certainly indications right now is that it’s going to be dry,” said Fire Chief Dave McMahon of the Osoyoos Fire Department (OFD), noting the over 200-hectare Squamish Valley wildfire which reportedly grew out of a slash burn earlier in April. “Squamish is a very wet part of the province, we know we are a very arid part of the province at the best of times. So, there is a lot of anxiety within the industry moving into the wildfire season.”
The Osoyoos Fire Department is currently training with some new equipment while keeping their distance and maintaining small groups.
“There’s a possibility of no inter-provincial movement of wildfire crews this season due to COVID-19. It is highly doubtful we’ll get any overseas support. My gut feeling is it will come back to fire departments ourselves to get on these fires, probably (respond to) fires outside of our boundaries we wouldn’t normally (respond to),” McMahon said.
However, the Osoyoos Fire Department is now better equipped to fight wildfires after a successful grant application to the provincial Community Emergency Preparedness fund for $25,000 worth of equipment.
The new equipment significantly helps OFD’s ability to fight wild-land fires within the town, helping fire crews work a wet line from portable water supplies and set up sprinklers around structures and critical infrastructure during wildfire events.
OFD has also partnered with firefighting equipment manufacturer WASP in preparation for the 2020 wildfire season, placing a $160,000 Structure Protection Unit (SPU) in Osoyoos providing not only the ability to combat fire more effectively, but provide training opportunities with the equipment also used by BC Wildfire.
WASP are a major contributor of wildfire equipment and are a registered contractor with the Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC).
McMahon said the partnership is a unique one, giving the local department the equipment to both train with, and use should there be a wildfire that threatens homes, structures or key critical infrastructure in Osoyoos — with the town being a key strategical location in the South Okanagan when it comes to fighting wildfires in the province.
“These are huge wins I believe for our community,” McMahon said.
“This is why I came here to build a resilient fire department. We don’t have a lot of forested areas right on our doorstep, they are only just beyond our doorstep, and we could quite easily succumb to significant wildfire events. It’s important we have the equipment and the knowledge to do our best while we await either mutual aid or assistance from BC Wildfire Service.”
