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BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is the
BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is the wildfire suppression
Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wild land areas require different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated ...
service of the Canadian province of British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. It is an element of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
Operations
For suppression purposes, the BCWS divides the province of British Columbia into six regional fire centres, each of which is responsible for managing wildfire response within its boundaries. These fire centres are in turn divided into local fire zones. Provincial level activities are managed by the Provincial Wildfire Coordinating Centre inKamloops
Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
and the BCWS Headquarters in Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
Crews
The BC Wildfire Service employs four types of wildfire suppression crews throughout the province. All BCWS firefighters are classified as Type 1 firefighters. * Initial Attack (IA) Crews Three-person crews which are usually the first to arrive to a newly reported wildfire. IA Crews respond to the majority of fires in British Columbia. * Rapattack Crews Rappel-capable crews which respond to fires in inaccessible terrain. Rapattack firefighters rappel from a helicopter in close proximity to a fire. They may also construct helipads so that larger amounts of equipment and personnel may be brought to the fire. * Parattack Crews Also known as smokejumpers, these firefighters parachute from fixed-wing aircraft, which allows the rapid deployment of several firefighters over great distances. Parattack crews are most utilized in the northeastern part of British Columbia. * Unit Crews 20 person crews specializing in larger fires that have grown beyond initial attack capabilities. Unit crews oftentimes live in temporary fire camps and work for up to fourteen days at a time. Once a fire is deemed contained, Type 2 firefighters, also known as contract crews, may be used to "mop-up" and patrol a fire to extinguish any remaining fire activity. All Type 2 firefighters in British Columbia are private contractors retained by the provincial government.Aviation
The agency pioneered the use ofAutomated Flight Following Automated Flight Following (AFF) is GPS aircraft tracking that is mandated by a government agency (or other governing body) for its contractors. The following criteria must be met:
* The GPS device must transmit position reports every two minutes; ...
for fire helicopter
Helitack crews are teams of Wildfire suppression, wildland firefighters who are transported by helicopter to wildfires. Helicopters provide rapid transport, enabling helitack crews to quickly respond and assess a wildfire situation. Helitack cr ...
s in the 1980s. BC contracts out aerial firefighting
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
to Conair Group
Conair Group Inc. of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, formerly known as Conair Aviation, is a company specializing in retrofitting Wildfire suppression, firefighting aircraft, maintaining customer and company ...
of Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...
and Air Spray of Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...
, rather than maintaining its own flight staff and equipment.
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.bcwildfire.ca/ Wildfire Service Wildfire suppression agencies