100 Mile House Fire Rescue Chief Roger Hollander would like to remind residents they should keep their house prepared for wildfires using the FireSmart program.
“It’s a program that is designed for private properties and homeowners to be able to mitigate the fuel risk and the fire risk of their own properties. The public always ask me how can they help and during this large fire event many people came to the hall wanted to join up immediately and start fighting fires and of course that can’t happen without the training and other things in place. What can happen is that people can take responsibility of their own property from a fire perspective and there is a lot of information in the FireSmart program that is available to property owners to reduce fuels near their homes.”
There is still a lot of fuel in the Cariboo area and just because it happened now doesn’t mean it can’t happen again, he says.
“I’d really like to see homeowners make that effort and take action.”
Hollander says it’s simple things like not stacking firewood up against your home, cleaning gutters and pruning trees.
“There’s a lot of properties that have a lot of combustibles and a lot of material. Just from a firefighter safety standpoint, we get in there with hoses and it’s difficult to fight these fires if it does come on your property. From an interface fire standpoint, it’s really great to come to a property that has a green lawn, limbed trees, a clean roof. Those properties, those homes and structures can be saved a lot easier than homes that don’t have those.”
It also makes it safer for firefighters if they don’t have to climb roofs to clean gutters or move firewood, says Hollander. Furthermore, it allowed them to move onto other homes quicker that need help, he says.
“It saves homes. You don’t need much water or green grass or water to keep the fire at bay and of course, it helps with those embers and sparks that do come down.”
He says the tips can be picked up at the firehall, on their website (firesmartcanada.ca) or the BC Wildfire Service website.