Fort St. John Deputy Fire Chief offers tips for wildfire season

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — With wildfire season underway in Northeast B.C., the Fort St. John Fire Department has offered some tips on how to stay safe. 

In a conversation with Energeticcity.ca, Matt Troiano, Deputy Fire Chief with the City of Fort St. John Fire Department, said the North Peace area has already seen a few brush fires in the area, including in Charlie Lake and Taylor.

Troiano says it’s important families ensure they have essentials ready in the case of an evacuation.

“There are what would be called 72-hour kits, or emergency preparedness kits,” he said. “There are plans that are available online for families to be able to get and help spur some conversations with the family unit, what kind of essentials they have that are necessary in the event of needing to be evacuated.” 

According to Troiano, residents should have a spare set of clothes, food, water and any medications readily available. 

Regarding burn regulations in the area, Troiano said most are handled by the BC Wildfire Service. 

“As far as regulations, and we’re talking about burn regulations in our area, that’s all moderated through the province and through B.C. Wildfire. We are in the Prince George Fire Centre, so all that information is readily available online, and there would be more specifics in regards to who can burn, where [they] can burn and what they can burn.”

While most of the burn regulations are overseen by BC Wildfire Service, Troiano said some of it defaults back to the city. 

“In regards to the city of Fort St. John, we abide by our own bylaws and rules for burning,” he said. “Our fire prevention bylaw within the City of Fort St. John strictly regulates all forms of burning within the city limits.”

Troiano said open burning is only available for lot sizes over one acre, but campfires one metre in diameter are permitted, as long as it’s only using clean, dry wood and propane. 

Burning anything that produces a large amount of smoke, including dirty material or construction material, is not permitted, according to Troiano. 

The Deputy Fire Chief explained residents can take steps to protect their home by removing burnable and combustible materials, including “ladder fuels” such as branches that would allow a fire to spread to trees.

According to Troaino, the past few years have increasingly shown the importance of being prepared for an emergency.

“Especially over the past four or five years, there seems to be an occurrence of a large-scale emergency in the Northeast region every year,” he said. “There is always a community that is threatened, put on alert or put on evacuation order that would have to leave at a moment’s notice.”

Troaino said now is the time for families to review safety plans and take precautions in advance. 

Additional information on fire safety is available on the Prince George Fire Centre website and the BC Wildfire Service website.