2022 look back: FD

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Calls were up 15 per cent in 2022 from previous years for the City of Fort St. John Fire Department.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Troiano explained the department responded to about 1,030 calls over the course of the year.

He said the increased call volume occurred in many fire services across Canada, and at the local department, they specifically saw an increase in medical responses.

Over the past couple of years, he explained, the fire department has begun to play a supportive role to BC Ambulance in responding to medical calls.

Also in 2022, the department conducted over 1,700 fire prevention inspections throughout the city and met with over 1,400 children through the community safety academy program.

“That goes to show that our fire and life safety inspections are doing well, and our staff here is devoted to keeping our community safe,” Troiano said.

The department received the natural gas live fire props that were commissioned in 2022.

“This was the first year that we’ve had access to training props, like motor vehicle fires, dumpers fires, and those types of things,” he explained.

“Typically, in the past, just like all of our live fire training, we would have to go to a registered facility down south.”

The BCAA Car Seat Educator Program was launched in 2022 through the department, with a couple of members trained to help the general public install car seats properly into their vehicles.

“We do monthly sessions that people are able to sign up for through our website,” Troiano said.

Another initiative the department began in 2022 is the smoke alarm program, through which they were able to donate smoke alarms to various community groups in the city.

“We intend on continuing forward with that program into the future, [we’re] looking for the public to support that program and help us get multiple working smoke alarms in every house here in the city of Fort St. John and surrounding area,” he said.

In November, the department had a carbon monoxide awareness week, to raise awareness of carbon monoxide detectors, which Troiano said don’t get as much “attention” as smoke detectors.

“There are appliances that people have in their houses that, if they’re not functioning correctly, they can emit carbon monoxide, which, going unchecked or unnoticed, it can have catastrophic repercussions on people’s health,” Troiano explained.