qathet Regional District (qRD) is the recipient of $94,015 for fire equipment for Northside, Savary Island, Malaspina and Lasqueti Island volunteer fire departments.
Ryan Thoms, manager of emergency services for the regional district, said the qRD operates the four departments and that the sum total announced was actually four different applications.
“The province, through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, was offering potential fire funding for departments for specific eligible items or training, so we put together applications based on equipment needs for each of these fire departments for the coming year,” said Thoms.
Thoms said the breakdown was $24,616 for Northside, $19,575 for Savary Island, $21,280 for Malaspina and $28,500 for Lasqueti Island.
“We were working with the fire chiefs on their equipment needs,” said Thoms. “The province was fairly specific on the types of things that were eligible.
“That’s how it worked out. It’s great for all our services. The regional fire services are all siloed so it’s really just the service area recipients who pay for those services. Our fire service areas are small. Lasqueti Island, in particular, has 500 properties, so it is great when we can get grant funding for these service areas, because they are small tax bases that are supporting the fire departments.”
Thoms said grant funding is not often available for fire departments, so when it comes along, it’s important to apply, and it’s great when the grant applications are successful.
“It was good work by our volunteer fire chiefs to work on the equipment listings and getting the submissions in,” said Thoms.
He said a variety of equipment will be funded by the grants. Acquisitions will include turnout gear, personal protective equipment for firefighters, some portable pumps, ladders and hoses.
“It’s a little different based on each fire department’s requirements,” said Thoms. “It’s equipment we are needing to either purchase or replace this year.”
More than 110 volunteer and composite fire departments throughout BC will receive their share of $6.3 million for equipment and training to bolster firefighting response to make people and communities safer, according to a media release from the province.
“Many people across the province live in communities with fire services delivered by volunteer or part-volunteer fire departments, and they depend on those fire crews to keep them and their families safe when fires happen,” stated Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness. “These fire crews have different challenges than most fire departments, and this funding will go a long way by supporting them to purchase new or replacement equipment and deliver training to their volunteers and staff.”
