Fort Nelson fire department tackling busy season

The Fort Nelson fire department has been busy this year, with 240 calls for service. Fire Chief James Childs says they’re always open to new recruits looking to lend a hand. 

“So far, our fire season has been pretty busy. We’ve done quite a few brush fires, grass fires, we did deal with a lot of structure fires,” said Childs. The structure fires are suspicious in nature and currently under investigation, he noted. 

The department is staffed by Childs, the deputy chief, a dispatcher, six full-time firefighters, and 15 on-call members. Ideally, he’d like to see the on-call members rise to 25, said Childs. 

“We’re always looking for new paid on-call firefighters,” said Childs. The only requirements are to be at least 19 years of age, a clean criminal record check and be able to commit to the training. 

Fort Nelson also trains with Toad River on occasion and donated one of their retired pump trucks to the neighbouring community, as Toad lacks a formal fire department. 

“We do some training with them and we’re looking at doing something with Prophet River in the future as well,” said Childs. “The municipality donated that one to Toad River, so they would have a water truck available if they ever needed it.” 

Squad 1 remains the latest addition to the Fort Nelson fleet, serving as a medical aid vehicle. 

“Squad 1’s doing really really well. It runs all of our medical calls for BC Ambulance,” Childs said. 

Childs has been the fire chief since 2019, and celebrated 25 years with the Northern Rockies in 2021. 

“I just love being the fire chief. It’s a progressive, very well put together fire department. The municipality treats us well, and we just want to provide the best service we can, the service the community deserves,” said Childs at the time. 

Written by Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative.