qathet Regional District’s (qRD) finance committee is recommending that the regional board endorse an application to the Fire Chiefs Association of BC for provincial funding for live fire training props for the firefighting training facility in Lund.
At the September 6 finance committee meeting, Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox, in whose district the fire hall is located, said he totally supported the recommendation.
“Having done live fire training, I can attest to the fact that if you don’t practice with real props and do it properly, when you get into the real situation, lives are at stake,” said Lennox. “This is a no-brainer.
“The facility is very cool and if you get an opportunity to go to Lund and check it out, it’s quite a resource for our region for training and I think other regions will be seeing about availability.”
City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said she also supports the application and is looking forward to the prospect of going on a tour.
Electoral Area E director and finance committee chair Andrew Fall said a live tour when it is in operation would be great. He has encouraged firefighters from Lasqueti Island to use the facility, as has qRD manager of emergency services Ryan Thoms, but it is challenging to get volunteers from the island to Lund.
“It can be of use for all the fire departments and there is no substitute for this live training,” said Fall.
According to a report to the committee from Thoms, there is space adjacent to the live fire training structure in Lund and the fire chief has proposed to install three props: a large propane tank, a dumpster and a car, to safely practice extinguishing fires in these scenarios. Thoms stated that it is estimated the cost for purchase, delivery and installation of the appropriate props to simulate these fire scenarios would be approximately $100,000.
Fire Chiefs Association of BC announced in August a $1.75 million fund from the Office of the Fire Commissioner to support live fire training capital costs. Thoms stated that staff are confident the proposed props for the Lund fire hall are eligible for this grant funding.
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