The first three months of calls for service from the Gibsons and District Volunteer Fire Department (GDVFD) in 2024 saw 86 calls — a 12 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Deputy fire chief Jordan Pratt presented the department’s quarterly report during an April 23 committee of the whole meeting. In the last quarter of 2023, there were 69 calls for service. Just as in the end of 2023, the start of 2024 saw the leading incident type related to wires, with more than 10 calls.
Notable incidents in the first quarter of this year included a structure fire of a mobile home, a car on a cliff edge and a response to a cardiac arrest, which revived the patient, Pratt said. Two incidents in the beginning of 2024 have required an investigation or Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) fire report.
The department currently has 49 firefighters, including five new recruits who began training on Jan. 6. They’ve undergone a total of 1,382 hours of training in the first quarter of 2024.
Of the almost 400 buildings in the GDVFD’s protection area, the department has inspected 83 since the start of the year. This represents 21 per cent of inspections for the year. But the report written by fire chief Rob Michael warns that the fire department has struggled to keep up with inspection requirements for years because of high priority projects such as referrals for reviewing new buildings and applications. In 2023, they completed 78 per cent of required inspections — a wide margin up from 44 per cent the year before. This quarter, the department completed 30 referrals and two fire investigations.
Pratt also noted that an analysis of the current capacity of the fire department limits the height of buildings constructed in the town to six storeys. Coun. Annemarie De Andrade asked, since council has approved a seven-storey development, about the implications of the height limit and department’s ability to respond. Pratt said the height requirement in the BC Building Code is 75 metres from the average grade of the property to the floor level of the top floor, so the building that has been approved is still able to go ahead. He added that in the future, if the town and fire department decide to build higher, change will be required.
This quarter, the department also launched a FireSmart library program for children and supported the third annual Youth Firefighter Academy for SD46 students. One of the Gibsons firefighters, Elijah Karkabe, who helped with the academy took part in the first academy himself when he was a high school student. Another student who took part in the second year of the academy is waiting to come of age to join the department. Pratt said they hope the academy will lead to more volunteers.
