Kelowna Fire Department video aims to prevent fires in urban areas

Thanks to persistent heat the past month, the cool and wet start to spring and early summer is now a distant memory for Okanagan residents.

In fact, on Wednesday the City of Kelowna said that the fire department has been busy of late responding to numerous grass and bush fires.

With more hot weather in the forecast for the next two weeks, wildfire prevention in urban areas is a priority for the Kelowna Fire Department (KFD).

“With temperatures expected to remain in the high 20s to low 30s over the next several weeks, we need to take steps to ensure we minimize the likelihood of an urban interface fire,” said Paul Johnson, fire prevention officer with the KFD.

Specifically, the KFD is eyeing commercial businesses and has created a video that targets business owners.

“If a commercial building adjacent to a dry hillside were to catch on fire, it could have dire implications to the dry slopes above the building,” said Johnson.

“By educating the businesses and building owners on how to mitigate the hazards around the commercial building, we hope to minimize damage both to the building and to the surrounding forest/grassland.”

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Taking a page from FireSmart’s priority zones for homeowners on how to mitigate fire hazards on their property, the fire department says it has implemented proven FireSmart techniques for commercial buildings.

“These techniques, combined with B.C. fire-code storage requirements, have a positive impact on reducing the chance of an exterior fire damaging the building,” said the fire department.

The video can be viewed online. It makes several recommendations, such as making sure roofs are clear of debris like leaves, and removing nearby combustible vegetation like cedar hedges and juniper bushes.

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In fact, the KFD says it followed its own advice at all local fire stations and removed adjacent cedars, along with replacing bark mulch with FireSmart-approved ground cover.

“The fire danger rating in the Central Okanagan is now listed between high and extreme,” said the fire department. “We all need to do our part by keeping our community safe and keeping it a desirable place to live and to visit.”

For more information, or to schedule a free FireSmart assessment of your property, contact the Kelowna Fire Department’s fire and life-safety educator at 250-469-8801 or email fireprevention@kelowna.ca.

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