Team gets business buy-in on fire prevention

The rising temperatures over the next week might be making some residents a little uncomfortable, and they aren’t alone. The Kelowna Fire Department is also acutely aware of the extremely hot and dry conditions and has been working diligently to mitigate potential fires, respond to fire starts and urge the community to take precautions.

The Kelowna Fire Department has been speaking to some business owners along the Okanagan Rail Trail, urging them to reduce storage and potential combustibles around their buildings. In addition, the Property Standards Compliance Team (PSCT) has contacted property owners adjacent to the Rail Trail advising them of the fire hazards and requesting that they take part in mitigating the fire risk of their properties. Several owners have identified steps they can take to mitigate human-caused fire risk which include hiring security, contracting clean-up crews and conducting wildfire assessments.

The PSCT was launched in June 2020 that brings together City of Kelowna staff, the Kelowna Fire Department, Kelowna RCMP and other agencies as needed to attend potentially unsafe or illegal properties. “We’ve found that when enforcement agencies coordinate and focus their efforts, their impact increases considerably and resources are used more efficiently,” said Ken Hunter, Bylaw Services Supervisor.

“While the main goal of the PCST is to act on repeated complaints from neighbours about properties and enforce as necessary, this is a much-needed proactive action to help protect our community,” said Paul Johnson, Fire Prevention Officer, Kelowna Fire Department. “We’re also pushing the message that campfires, pizza ovens, fire pits, Chimeneas and other outdoor wood burning appliances are not permitted in the City of Kelowna at any time. We can’t reinforce this enough at a time when a single ember could cause a significant problem.”

Fire crews do have the ability to issue bylaw fines if they are notified of a campfire in the city limits.

“The rain and moisture that came down last week is long gone,” said Johnson. “And the wet only made things more concerning by making grass and other potential combustibles, grow. We all need to do our part to help keep our community safe and to protect our natural environment. The City is conducting fuel mitigation initiatives but it is on all of us to be vigilant as well.”

The Kelowna Fire Department (KFD) continues to educate homeowners about wildfire risks on properties using FireSmart guidelines. FireSmart is a national program designed to engage homeowners in voluntary wildfire mitigation activities by offering a professional home assessment with property-specific recommendations. The assessment provides an accurate evaluation of a home and property for wildfire exposure, while engaging the homeowners in their unique risk and ways to reduce that risk.

For information about the Fire and Life Safety Bylaw which restricts open fires in the City of Kelowna, or information about the FireSmart program, visit kelowna.ca/fire. If residents see a campfire or outdoor wood burning taking place, they are urged to call 9-1-1.

Residents with concerns about problem properties can make a complaint using the online service request system to generate a documented, trackable file. Visit kelowna.ca/bylawservices for more information.