VICTORIA, B.C. – The Province of B.C. has partnered with Statistics Canada to create a Community Fire Risk Reduction Dashboard “to help prevent fires, reduce injuries and save lives”.
According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, this will be crucial given increased fire-related deaths.
The dashboard will provide statistics to help B.C. fire services identifies areas at greatest risk of home fires and give those areas safety information.
“Since 2020, we have seen a concerning trend of rising fire deaths across B.C. and the rest of Canada. We need to do more to keep people and first responders safe by preventing these fires from happening,” said Brian Godlonton, B.C.’s fire commissioner.
“The new dashboard identifies the areas most at risk of fires, so we know where to focus our fire prevention and safety programs. These advancements will not only prevent fires but, more importantly, prevent injuries and save lives.”
According to the Office of the Fire Commissioner’s annual report over the last two years, 2020-2021, there has been a 119 per cent increase in fire-related deaths around B.C.
“I’m deeply concerned about the growing number of fire-related deaths in our province. We are working on tackling this problem, and the new Community Fire Risk Reduction Dashboard will be extremely important to help us prevent fires and save lives,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
The Office of the Fire Commissioner will be launching pilots of the dashboard in Coquitlam, Surrey, and Port Alberi in July, with a provincial release in early 2023.